Chosen Girl and the Basilisk
by AnimationNut
Summary: Charlotte Potter is back for her second year at Hogwarts along with Ron, Hermione and Harry. With strange houselves, a monster going around petrifying students and Slytherins, it's not going to be an easy year. Sequel to Chosen Girl.
1. Dobby the Houself

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Dobby the Houself**

It was the worst birthday Charlotte Potter ever had.

Now twelve-years old, the young witch was crouched in the freshly clipped grass (which she had done) and was furiously pulling weeds from the front garden. Her oversize T-shirt and baggy jeans were covered in dirt and her face was streaked with sweat.

She was not looking forward to the dinner party Uncle Vernon would have with a future client. Of course her whale of an uncle wanted to suck up to a wealthy person that could possible make _him _wealthy as well. But really, you couldn't expect to make much when your company sold drills.

But perhaps she was just thinking that because she was so annoyed.

Charlie knew she was confined to her room for the duration of the dinner. Her Aunt Petunia was bustling around the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece of a pudding.

"I hate summer," Charlie moaned, sitting up and cracking her sore back. The past year had been wonderful and amazing. She never thought she would be able to escape the Dursleys until she turned eighteen. She was excited to go back, and also a bit apprehensive.

Over a month of the summer holidays had past and she had not gotten a single letter from Ron, Hermione or Harry. Charlie wrote to Hermione a couple of times, but then stopped when she wasn't getting responses.

_What if their parents told them not to speak to me again after the Stone incident?_

If that was the case, then Charlie understood. She had put two children (almost three) into danger when going to protect the Stone. The raven-haired girl sighed heavily and went back to weeding.

"Do you like your birthday so far?" An obnoxious voice sneered from above. Charlie rolled her bright green eyes and scowled into the pudgy face of her cousin Dudley.

"It's the best birthday I ever had," she responded sarcastically. "Now go away before I hex you."

Dudley went very pale and Charlie smirked on the inside. Her relatives did not know she wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school, but that hadn't stopped them from locking up her trunk. Good thing she knew how to pick locks or her summer homework would never have gotten done.

"You can't!" Dudley cried, backing for the kitchen door. "Dad won't let you!"

"He's not here right now, is he?" Charlie asked mischievously, knowing very well her uncle left to get his and Dudley's dinner jackets.

Dudley howled in fear and raced for the kitchen. Her Aunt Petunia was not pleased and ordered her to hurry up the garden and get inside. Any more nonsense and she would go to bed without any supper. Charlie didn't think it mattered; considering she got starved enough as a punishment (the Dursleys didn't really tolerate her sarcastic manner). But not wanting anymore trouble she finished the weeding and went to take the garbage bag to the curb.

She froze. On the curb stood the steel garbage can and peering from underneath the lid was a pair of large green eyes. Charlie stood still, eyes wide. What kind of raccoon was that?

"CHARLOTTE!"

Charlie approached the can and cautiously pulled back the lid. Whatever was in there was gone, funnily enough and she put the garbage bag inside. "I'm losing my mind..." she muttered as she hurried to answer her aunt's call.

"There you are!" Her aunt snapped. She pointed to a cheese sandwich resting on a plate. "Hurry up and eat! And don't you dare get mud on my nice clean floors!"

Charlie took off her shoes and grabbed the sandwich with one hand. She shoved it in her mouth and hurried up the stairs. Before she could get to her room her uncle hollered at her. She peered over the banister and stared at her large uncle.

Vernon glared up at her with a purple face. "I want no funny business! That cat of yours stays quiet and so do you! Ruin this deal for me and you will be _very _unhappy."

"Yes Uncle Vernon," Charlie answered and hurried into her room.

Snowy had not been happy about being cooped up for so long. But Uncle Vernon didn't like cats and so she had to stay in Charlie's room. Charlie was grateful she had managed to sneak Snowy's cat supplies underneath her bed before Vernon managed to get a hold of her trunk.

"Sorry Snowflake," she apologized as she tossed her dirty shoes in the corner and got dressed in a clean set of clothes. "Summer will be over before you know it."

Then there was a great _pop _just as the doorbell rang downstairs. Charlie managed to hold back a scream as a small creature with bat-like ears and bulging green eyes appeared at the foot of her bed. Snowy hissed and made to leap at it but Charlie quickly caught her in mid-air. "Relax!" She snapped before placing her cat down.

"Er..." Charlie began nervously, slowly getting up. "Hi."

The thing beamed at her. "It is a great honour to be meeting Charlotte Potter, miss!"

Charlie rubbed the back of her neck, completely confused. "Gee, thanks. It's really nice to meet you to."

To her surprise and horror the thing burst into tears. Charlie hastily clamped a hand over its mouth and shushed it gently. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

"Its n-not t-that!" The thing sobbed. "No one has e-ever said it was nice to m-meet me before! Never has Dobby been treated so kindly by a wizard-like an e-equal!"

Dobby's sobs lessened and Charlie removed her hand. "Well then, you've obviously only been in the company of rude wizards."

Dobby nodded. And then he started to bang his head on her dresser.

Charlie wondered what she had done to deserve such a thing happen to her. The conversation paused downstairs and Charlie grabbed Dobby and swung him onto her bed. They stood still for a moment until the talking downstairs resumed.

"What did you do that for?" Charlie asked in bewilderment.

"Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, miss. Dobby must not speak ill of them, or he must punish himself!"

"Your family?" Charlie asked.

"Dobby serves a wealthy wizarding family miss. He serves them and cleans for them."

Charlie decided that Dobby was the wizarding version of a housekeeper. But she was perplexed on the whole 'punishing' thing. She figured she would look it up when she had a chance.

"We'll just avoid the topic of your family, alright? Now, you've obviously come here for a reason. Would you like to tell me what that reason is?"

Dobby twisted his little hands together and looked at her earnestly. "Dobby will have to punish himself later...but Charlotte Potter is so brave! Dobby must warn you, protect you...Charlotte Potter must not return to Hogwarts!"

Charlie blinked. "Um...why not?"

"There is a plot, miss! Dark plots that'll make terrible things happen at Hogwarts! Charlotte Potter must not put herself in danger!"

"Who's plotting?"

Dobby lunged for her lamp but she caught him before he could do any damage and set him down. She figured that he punished himself for wronging his family. "Alright, I assume you can't tell me because you've been told not to, correct?"

Dobby nodded. Charlie thought for a moment. "Well, has it anything to do with Vol-You-Know-Who?" Charlie corrected herself, knowing that people in the wizarding world did not like speaking Voldemort's name.

Dobby slowly shook his head. Charlie pursed her lips in thought. She truly did not know anything more dangerous than Voldemort, and decided that perhaps this little thing just misunderstands what he had been told. "Well, then I think I'll be fine. And besides, I'm sure Dumbledore won't let anything bad happen to the school."

"Dumbledore is a powerful wizard, but Dumbledore doesn't have powers...powers no good wizard should..." He leapt for the lamp again and this time succeeded. The conversation stopped once more and should hear Vernon talking loudly over Dobby's squeals. She hastily scooped him up and shoved him into her wardrobe.

The door flew open moments later and Vernon hissed, "What are you doing?"

Charlie looked at him innocently. "Nothing really. How's your dinner?"

"Behave girl, or else!" Vernon hissed and shut the door once more before returning downstairs. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief and let Dobby out of the wardrobe.

"Now, that is why I have to go back. They don't like me, and I feel comfortable at Hogwarts. I like it there. I actually have friends there."

"**Friends who don't even **_**write**_** to Harry Potter?"** Dobby questioned.

Charlie crossed her arms and narrowed her green eyes. "And how exactly would you know that?"

Dobby nervously removed a bundle of letters from underneath the pillowcase he wore. "Charlotte Potter mustn't be angry! Dobby thought that if Charlotte Potter believed she didn't have any friends, she would stay here, where it's safe!"

Charlie wanted to tackle the little creature but refrained. Dobby seemed to believe she was in grave danger if she returned to school and was trying to protect her. His means weren't exactly right ones, but she understood he was only trying to be helpful. "Dobby, may I please have my letters?"

"If miss will say she won't return to Hogwarts."

Charlie sighed. "Dobby, I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Then miss has left Dobby with no choice."

The letters were tossed on her bed and Dobby scurried around her and opened the door. Charlie tried to stop him but he was already half-way down the stairs. Charlie gasped in horror and booked it after him. "Dobby!"

She scrambled past the sitting room unnoticed and nearly shrieked when she entered the kitchen. Dobby perched atop the fridge and was using magic to levitate a pudding towards the group gathered in the sitting room.

"Dobby, please don't!" Charlie begged.

"Will miss stay here and not return to Hogwarts?"

"I can't!"

"Then Dobby is sorry."

The pudding splattered all over the Masons. Charlie ran a hand through her black hair as Dobby popped away and tried to go back to her room unseen.

No such luck.

Uncle Vernon caught her and his face looked ready to explode. Before he could make a hasty apology to the Masons, an owl swooped in and Mrs. Mason ran out of the house, screaming hysterically. Mr. Mason followed after her and Vernon grabbed the letter from the owl, fuming.

A look that frightened Charlie crossed his face. He silently handed her the letter after he had finished reading it. Charlie read it over and paled. It was a warning from the Improper Use of Magic office. It clearly stated that this was her only warning and reminded her that she could not use magic outside of school if she was underage.

"...drat."

...

"You've got me in a real mess now, Dobby." Charlie sighed. It was one night later and bars were firmly placed over her window and her door was padlocked shut. Food was slipped in through a little slot and she was allowed out for bathroom breaks.

"Well, Dobby will be happy. I certainly won't be returning to Hogwarts now." Charlie flopped back on her bed and sighed.

There was a tapping sound on her window. Charlie pushed herself up on her elbows so she could see and nearly had a heart-attack.

Peering at her through the iron bars was none other than Ron Weasley.

**Considering I have about a week of winter holidays left, I'm going to update as much as I possibly can until I'm bombarded by projects and exams. Then expect the updates to slow down for a bit.**


	2. Break Out

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an Au. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Break Out**

Charlie stared in disbelief at one of her best friends. "Uh...what are you doing?"

"We've come to rescue you!" Ron whispered excitedly. Charlie furrowed her brow and glanced past Ron. Her eyebrow rose when she saw how Ron managed to reach her second floor window.

He and his twin brothers were in a flying car. Well...weirder things have happened to her.

Charlie moved back and watched as Fred (or was it George?) tied a rope to one of the iron bars and the other twin slammed the gas pedal. The car roared forward and the iron bars tore from her window with a violent screech. Charlie listened intently to see if the noise disturbed her relatives. Nope, they were still sound asleep, if the chainsaw snoring was anything to go by.

Ron yanked her window open and clambered through. "How come you haven't been answering my letters?" He asked. "I've asked at least six times if you wanted to stay with us. I'm sure Hermione asked too, since she's been pouring out all her concerns to me and Harry."

"I'll explain later." Charlie assured him. "But since this seems to be the only way I'll be getting to Hogwarts (and I don't want you and your brothers to have done this for nothing) I'll be ready in a sec."

"Where are you going?" Ron asked as Charlie crept for the door.

"My Uncle locked my trunk in the cupboard under the stairs." Charlie explained as she picked the lock with one of her hairpins. "I suppose I could have done this earlier, but it seemed it would only bring more trouble than it was worth."

Charlie swung her bedroom door open and glanced at Ron. "Just grab an assortment of clothes from my drawers and toss them out to Fred and George. I'll be right back."

Charlie hurried down the stairs (skipping over the one that creaked) and picked the lock on the cupboard. She then dragged her trunk along the floor as silently as possible (she was relieved when Ron came down to help) and the two managed to lug the trunk upstairs. Her relatives didn't even stir at the creaking step.

Fred and George helped load the trunk into the car and Charlie asked Ron to help her hand them Snowy's cat supplies. Her cat was already in the cage and watching her from the back seat. Soon everything was loaded.

"Finally!" Ron breathed. "We better get out of here-OUCH!"

He hopped around the room, one hand grabbing his stubbed toe and the other clamped over his mouth. Vernon awoke with a start in the next room and Charlie could hear him hollering in anger as he charged for her room.

He seemed to have noticed that the shout was male and not Dudley.

Ron nearly hurtled himself into the car and Charlie climbed out the window after him. Her door flew open and Vernon let out a bellow and she could feel an iron grip on her ankle.

"Floor it!" Fred hollered as he and Ron tried to haul Charlie into the car. Her uncle would have none of it.

"You're-staying-here!" He roared.

"You won't have to put up with me for nearly a year!" Charlie protested as she tried to kick her uncle off. "I won't even come over for the holidays!"

Uncle Vernon froze as he had an internal battle. Getting rid of Charlie was a good thing for him, but she would be going back to the place she loved so much...

In the end he decided that being rid of her was a much better thing, even if she was going to a place where she had fun and learned freak stuff. "I better not see your face until next summer!" He hissed.

Charlie promised him that he wouldn't and climbed into the car. Aunt Petunia and Dudley stood framed in the doorway, looking at the flying car in stunned disbelief. The car took off with Fred and George whooping.

"Your relatives don't like you that much, do they?" Ron asked as he settled in the crowded back seat with Charlie. The Girl-Who-Lived was packing all of the loose items into her trunk to make more room.

"No, they don't. But they're my only relatives, and so I have no choice but to stay with them."

"Why were there bars on your window?" Fred asked, turning around to face her.

Charlie explained the whole story; from Dobby's appearance to the letter she received.

"Danger at Hogwarts..." George mused thoughtfully. "I doubt it. I bet the Houself belonged to the Malfoys...Houselves normally belong to rich wizarding families. Mum always wanted one..."

Charlie doubted that this was all a prank, but she did believe that the Malfoys probably had something to do with it. She thought of the punishment thing with Dobby and asked about it.

"You see, if a Houself disobeys their family's orders or does something to displease them, they have to punish themselves." Ron explained.

Charlie thought that this was unfair. "Is a Houself bound to their family forever?"

"Yes. A Houself serves generation after generation and is only set free if the family allows it by giving them pieces of clothing."

"Poor Dobby..." Charlie winced. She could just imagine what life at the Malfoys would be like if that was indeed his family.

"It makes sense." George commented from the front, his eyes never leaving the sky. "I mean, Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, was a big supporter of You-Know-Who. He denied any attachments when he disappeared, but Dad doesn't believe him one bit."

Charlie furrowed her brow. Maybe Dobby was right. Maybe Lucius Malfoy was planning to have something bad happen at Hogwarts and couldn't tell her because he was bound (however unwillingly) to his family.

_Well, then I ought to give the little guy a chance._

The drive took the rest of the night and it was dawn by the time they landed by the coolest house Charlie had ever seen. It was very crooked, and had many rooms jutting out from different sides. A couple chimneys perched on the red roof and Charlie stared at it in awe.

"It's nothing extravagant," Ron muttered as he caught her gawking.

"I love it!"

Ron blushed, feeling very pleased.

...

Mrs. Weasley, Charlie soon discovered, was a woman not to mess with. Fred, George and Ron were horrified upon seeing her storm onto the front lawn and she wasted no time in laying into them. Charlie felt terribly guilty when she heard that Mr. Weasley could have lost his job.

The plump, short redheaded woman didn't seem to be angry at her at all. "Charlotte dear, it's very nice to see you! You must be starving, come in!"

Knowing that Mrs. Weasley had a son called Charlie; she decided that she would not correct her. Being called Charlotte wouldn't be such a terrible thing.

"What does your dad do?" Charlie whispered as they trooped into the house, which Charlie noticed had been nicknamed the Burrow.

"He works for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry of Magic," Ron explained. During the train ride home after first year, he and Harry had told her what the Ministry of Magic was. "He's the head of office."

"What does that part of the Ministry do?" Charlie asked.

"Well, they regulate the use of magic on Muggle objects and try to keep items that have been bewitched away from Muggles. Sometimes he participates in raids to keep Dark Magic items out of circulation. Dad loves his job, he even wrote a law stating the prohibition of enchanting Muggle items with the intent to use it for purposes other than what it was designed for.

"All of us know that he intended to have a loophole when he wrote that up. He can play around with all the Muggle items in his shed and not get charged as long as he doesn't intend to use them. Heck, he loves Muggles so much he even proposed a law that protects the Muggles!"

"That's good of him!" Charlie said as she and the boys sat down at an old wooden kitchen table. "But why would wizards want to enchant Muggle items?"

"For a laugh, I suppose. Dad also calls it Muggle Baiting." Ron brightened when a plate of food was placed in front of him and he wolfed down his eggs and sausages.

"I want you boys to go clean out the garden gnomes when you're done!" Mrs. Weasley ordered as she set about making Charlie's plate.

The boys groaned but knew it was not wise to argue. Charlie's green eyes widened when she saw how much food was being added to her plate. "Mrs. Weasley, I really don't need that much-"

"Don't be silly!" Molly said as she poured a rather large glass of orange juice. "You're much too skinny! You don't skip out on meals, do you?" Molly turned around and frowned in concern.

"No, of course not!" Charlie said quickly. To prove it she ate everything that was put on her plate, even if it made her sick afterwards.

Mr. Weasley came home a few minutes later and was delighted to see her. But when he heard that his boys had taken his Ford Angelia, he paled and glanced nervously at his wife, who was not pleased. The kids quickly went outside before the argument started.

"Those are not garden gnomes," Charlie said as she stared at the potato-like creatures stumbled around the front lawn. "Garden gnomes are cute and adorable."

"Afraid not." Ron laughed as he picked one up and swung it over his head before launching it in the air. "It's what you're supposed to do!" Ron said quickly when he noticed Charlie's horrified expression.

"I'm just glad Mum didn't try to give us tips from Lockhart's book." Fred said as he and George tried to see who could launch their gnome the farthest.

"Lockhart?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"Gilderoy Lockhart has become a rather popular wizard in our world," Ron explained. "But trust me when I say that everything he writes about is bull and rubbish."

"Don't let Mum hear you say that." George laughed. "She fancies the man, whether she admits it or not!"

Soon they had finished and Charlie felt her stomach lurch. Unable to make it to the bathroom, she hunched over the bushes and let out her stomach contents. Concerned, Ron stood by her while the twins ran to get their mother, despite her feeble protests.

_Too much food at one time...maybe the Dursleys starved me more than I realized._

That couldn't be healthy...

Molly rushed out and helped her to the house. She was placed in an armchair and given a Stomach Soother. Charlie grinned sheepishly. "I'm really sorry about that...I guess I ate more than I should have."

"Well that's true. You ate more here than you did at Hogwarts for a year! Well, besides Halloween. You ate a lot of sweets at Halloween." Ron said.

Molly didn't like this bit of information, and Charlie reluctantly told her that sometimes she was starved as a punishment at the Dursleys. Just as she feared, Molly made a big deal out of it and raced off. Ron scowled and the twins said very bad things about the Dursleys under their breath.

Just then Arthur called for his sons and they left. Ron said he would owl Hermione as soon as his Dad finished lecturing them.

Charlie settled back in the chair and sighed heavily. Her green eyes caught a pair of curious brown ones peering at her from around the corner. "Hello there. I don't think we've met."

A little redheaded girl came into the sitting room and approached her shyly. "I'm Ginny," she introduced softly.

"Hello Ginny. I'm Charlotte. It's very nice to meet you. Will you be going to Hogwarts this year?"

Ginny eagerly began to tell her how excited she was and also how nervous she felt. Charlie listened in amusement and chuckled softly.

It was then Ron burst into the sitting room with a grin. "Guess what? After Dad was finished I asked him if I could Floo Harry, and he said yes! And Mr. Lupin said that Harry could spend the rest of the holidays with us!"

"That's great!" Charlie said with a grin. "You know, when he gets here, we should get a stone and paint it red, and pretend that we found another Philosopher's Stone!"

"I can just imagine the look on his face!" Ron laughed.

Charlie giggled and felt very happy. To her, she was finally home.


	3. Floo Mishap

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an Au. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Floo Mishap**

"You wouldn't believe what I've just heard!" Minerva McGonagall exclaimed as she entered Albus' office. The old wizard looked at her curiously as she set herself in one of the chairs opposite his desk.

"What have you just heard?" Albus asked, taking a break from reviewing the new student roster and peering at his Deputy Headmistress.

"Molly just Floo'd me to say that Charlotte Potter was at her place!"

"Good heavens!" Albus said in surprise. "How on earth did she get there?"

Minerva shook her head, as if she couldn't believe what she was about to say. "The Weasley twins and Ronald took Arthur's enchanted car out to get to her! Apparently they were worried that Charlotte wasn't answering Ron's letters and wanted to see if she was okay."

"I hope they don't make a habit of doing that. The wards are up for a reason..."

"Well, I for one am glad she's at the Weasleys." Minerva said coldly as she thought of the horrible Dursleys. "Molly has told me some frightening news, and I swear to Merlin that if you knew about this I'll hex you into next week!"

Albus was now very worried. "What's happened?"

"Charlotte told Molly that she was _starved _as a punishment! STARVED! Albus, how could you have overlooked that?" Minerva snapped.

"I...thought she would be fine." Albus said in shock. He supposed he should have checked on Charlotte during the summer-he knew the Dursleys weren't fond of magic-but to treat such a young child in such a way?

"She's not! The poor thing is as thin as a stick and Molly said she threw up breakfast because it was too much! It was one plate of food, Albus! She may be a girl but even other girls her age eat more than she does."

Albus ran a hand through his silver beard, feeling disturbed. Now that he thought about it, Charlotte had not eaten very much during her time at Hogwarts. She would come to the Hall, but sometimes she wouldn't eat at all. Why hadn't he noticed this before?

"I'll be sure to deal with the Dursleys." Albus said solemnly. The twinkle in his blue eyes was gone. "I'll also have Madame Pomfrey check on her and have her draw up a list of vitamins she will need to take."

Minerva nodded in satisfaction. "I can't believe I didn't notice this before..."

"It seems Charlotte didn't want anyone to know. But we should have been paying closer attention."

Minerva sighed sadly and then noticed a stack of envelopes on his desk. "Are those the student school supply letters?"

"Er...report cards actually. I forgot to send them out."

"ALBUS!"

...

Harry had arrived later that evening with his trunk. He apologized on behalf of his uncle, who could not accept the dinner invitation because he had urgent matters to attend to. Ron and Charlie waited until they were alone before playing the fake Stone prank, and they were both sheepish when the poor boy fainted.

"Sorry," Charlie apologized for the fifth time. "Won't do it again."

"Don't do stuff like that to me!" He cried, slumped on Ron's bed and wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"Really, did you honestly think we find a real Philosopher's Stone in the grass?" Ron asked in amusement.

Harry gave him a pointed look. "After what happened last year, I don't doubt it."

The three then went outside to practice some Quidditch. Ron's broom was rather slow and old, but Charlie let him borrow her Nimbus. She then noticed that Harry had gotten a new broom, the latest Cleansweep. "Did your uncle buy you that?"

"Yeah. Two members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team have graduated and the tryouts will be taking place when we get back." Harry was watching Ron zoom gleefully through the air, keeping under the cover of the thick trees so the next village wouldn't spot him.

"You did mention you might be trying out last year." Charlie remembered. "What position?"

"A Chaser, I suppose. They need a new Beater as well, but I don't think I'm cut out for that."

"Hey, have I told you about Dobby yet?"

The puzzled look he gave her said she hadn't. So she told him all about the little elf that had paid her a visit and the supposed doom that would strike Hogwarts. Harry seemed to be taking it more seriously than both Ron and Charlie.

"I don't think I can handle another adventure like last year!" He moaned.

"Harry, you didn't even go down to get the Stone with us."

"Well...no, but I nearly got my head torn off by Madame Pomfrey and from what the three of you told me I don't think I would have been able to handle it." Harry had not quite told his friends about the sudden pain he had felt during the time Charlie was being attacked by Quirrell. He didn't want to freak her out, and Hermione would be researching for any possible explanation.

Then they would never get out of the library.

"You're braver than you give yourself credit for." Charlie smiled at him. "Besides, we'll find out soon enough whether or not Dobby's telling the truth."

Harry was not at all comforted.

Charlie and Ron took turns helping Harry practice being a Chaser. He was doing quite well, but he needed to be a bit more aware of his surroundings.

The three were making their way to the Burrow when three owls swooped down and landed on their shoulders. They relieved them of their burdens and they took off once more. Charlie peered at the two envelopes in her hand; one thick and one small.

"Dumbledore was a bit late in getting these report cards out." Ron mused. "I bet Hermione tackled the poor bird that delivered hers."

Charlie laughed and they deposited their brooms by the front door and sat down at the wooden table with the rest of the Weasleys. Molly was now aware that wasn't used to eating a lot of food (and she took every opportunity to curse the Dursleys about it) and would not let her leave the table until she had eaten what little was put on her plate.

She was just glad she wasn't required to eat more than one helping.

"Did you get your report cards as well?" Molly asked as she set a platter of garlic bread in the middle of the table. "Percy got twelve O.W.L's the darling boy."

Percy blushed in pleasure and Ron explained that O.W.L's were Ordinary Wizarding Levels that you took in your fifth year. They were much more important than regular exams. But then Molly argued that all exams were important and that he better not have one D.

"She's not kidding," Fred muttered as he helped himself to some spaghetti. "George and I got a D in Potions and she already banned us from flying for the rest of the summer."

With two weeks to go, that would be hard for the twins.

Charlie opened up her report card and stared in confusion at her grades.

**Astronomy:** E

**History of Magic:** E

**Potions:** E

**Defense Against the Dark Arts:** O

**Charms:** O

**Transfiguration:** O

**Herbology:** E

**Flying:** O

Ron explained what each letter stood for and Charlie stared at her Potions grade in disbelief. She was almost certain that Professor Snape would have failed her just for the fun of it.

"That just proves you're a Ravenclaw." Ron muttered. He fingered the flap of his envelope and waited for Harry to open his.

**Astronomy:** A

**History of Magic:** A

**Potions:** A

**Defense Against the Dark Arts:** A

**Charms:** E

**Transfiguration:** O

**Herbology:** E

**Flying:** E

Harry wasn't as smart as Charlie and Hermione, but he did alright. His uncle would certainly be pleased, although he would be encouraged to improve a bit more. "I was positive I would get a T in Potions."

"You didn't do badly at all," Charlie assured him. "I see your love for Transfiguration has been beneficial."

Harry smiled. He did love Transfiguration, even if McGonagall intimidated him sometimes. Herbology was alright, but he was nowhere near as gifted as Neville was. "Well Ron, how did you do?"

"No more stalling young man!" Molly ordered. Ron's brothers were staring at him in amusement and Ron turned red. He reluctantly peeled open the envelope and took out his report card. With gasp, he fell out of his chair.

"Poor bloke failed everything." Fred said with a sigh.

"We'll start digging his grave now and we can have the funeral done by midnight." George promised.

Molly gave them both a look while Arthur picked up his son's report card. "Ron! These grades are great!"

"I know!" Ron croaked as he climbed back into his seat. "That's why I'm so shocked! I thought I'd get an A in almost everything and perhaps a D here and there."

Everyone took a look at his grades in curiosity.

**Astronomy: **E

**History of Magic: **A

**Potions: **A

**Defense Against the Dark Arts: **E

**Charms: **O

**Transfiguration: **E

**Herbology: **E

**Flying: **E

"Well done Ron!" Percy congratulated. "Glad to see the twins haven't influenced you."

Fred and George scowled at him.

"I see spending the majority of your time studying with Hermione and I paid off," Charlie teased.

Ron rolled his blue eyes and but smirked. Harry let out a dramatic sigh. "I bet Hermione got all O's. Now I'm going to have to work extra hard this year if I'm to catch up."

Charlie snorted. "Harry, you're marks are almost the same as Ron's."

The kids waited until after dinner to open their school supply letters.

"Nearly every book on this list is by Lockhart!" Fred complained. "What's the new DADA teacher getting at?"

"His books are really expensive..." George said nervously. Molly looked worried, but assured them they would manage. Charlie felt a bit guilty knowing she had a small fortune when the Weasleys struggled. She would have offered to pay for the books, but knew they would never accept it.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed suddenly and rushed over to the window. An ancient grey owl flew in and collapsed on the couch. "You took your sweet time, didn't you Errol?"

Errol hooted in exhaustion and Ron placed him in his cage. Harry and Charlie sat beside him so they could read Hermione's response.

_Dear Ron and Charlie,_

_Ronald, that was terribly irresponsible of you to rescue Charlie using a flying car! You might have gotten your father in serious trouble, and you could have been hurt! But I am glad Charlie is away from those horrible relatives of hers...perhaps I'll ask Dumbledore if you can come stay with me right after the year ends. I'm sure my parents won't mind when I explain the circumstances._

_Oh, I nearly forgot! I just got my report card and I got all Outstanding! I'm very pleased, and I'm sure you all did brilliant as well._

_My parents are taking me to Diagon Alley next Wednesday morning. I hope you both can meet me there, and since I haven't an owl I was hoping one of you could contact Harry for me._

_Please send a response, although I'd use a different owl if I were you. I don't this one can make another delivery._

_Love from, _

_Hermione_

After Molly told them that they could go to Diagon Alley next Wednesday, Ron scribbled Hermione a response telling her that their grades were good as well, Harry was with them (Hermione's parents wanted her home for the summer) and that they would be meeting her in Diagon Alley. Knowing Hermione would want to do some researching before hand, Charlie also wrote down her encounter with Dobby.

Percy reluctantly agreed to lend them Hermes and the elegant owl took off.

"So," Charlie said as she crossed her arms and peered at the both of them. "Which one of you still has homework to do?"

Ron groaned and Harry grinned. The redhead shuffled towards his room to collect his unfinished homework and muttered, "Ravenclaws!"

...

Next Wednesday came quicker than expected and the Weasley clan gathered in front of the fireplace. Ron explained to her how Floo powder worked and Charlie tossed some of the powder into the fire. It turned emerald green and she hesitantly stepped into it. Unfortunately, she inhaled a cloud of soot and her destination came out a bit choked.

Next thing she knew she found herself sprawled on the stone floor of a rather sketchy shop. Charlie wiped the soot from her eyes and climbed to her feet. The dark street outside the dusty windows was definitely not the cheerful Diagon Alley.

"Fantastic," Charlie muttered. Here she was, who-knows-where, in a shop with a bunch of dark-looking artefacts and covered in soot. She shuffled towards the door and cursed under her breath when Draco Malfoy and an adult version of him entered the shop. This was just what she needed; Malfoy to go running off to Pansy and laughing about how the Girl-Who-Lived was covered in soot and a wreck.

Charlie quickly slipped into a space between a large wardrobe and crouched down, keeping out of sight. Draco lingered by the door, casting an uneasy glance at the strange items in the shop."Father, when are we going to get my racing broom?"

"Later." The man Charlie figured was Lucius Malfoy snapped. "Now don't touch anything."

"I'm certain to get on the House team now..." Draco smirked. "Pansy might even hex Potter in the air for me during a match."

Charlie held back a snort. _If Pansy could hit the broad side of the barn, then I'd be concerned._

"How many times must I tell you? It isn't wise to appear less than fond of that girl when everyone else considers her a savoir."

It was then a stooping man with greasy hair approached the counter. "Will you be buying or selling today?"

"Selling," Lucius said curtly and handed him a list. "The Ministry has been doing more raids...I'd be mortified if they came to pay me a visit and discovered some of the items I have. I may be highly respected in that place, but the Ministry's getting more meddlesome...they're even considering putting in a Muggle Protection Act! No doubt Arthur Weasley is behind it."

Lucius continued to rant and Charlie passed a hand through her grimy hair. _Stay by the door, Draco..._

Thankfully Draco seemed to be as uncomfortable in this place as she was.

Lucius finally finished with his business and he pushed open the door to leave. Charlie waited until the shopkeeper went into the back room before moving out of her hiding spot. She looked back and forth down the dark street and moaned. She really wished she could use magic, but the last thing she wanted was the letter stating her expulsion.

Charlie kept her head down and started down the cracked sidewalk. Witches and wizards with dirty robes and toothless sneers watched her. Someone grabbed her by the shoulder and she jumped about a foot in the air. "What the-?"

"What d'yeh think yer doin' here?" Hagrid's familiar voice demanded.

Charlie let out a sigh of relief. "I got lost."

Hagrid lugged her from the weird place and set her down in the bright familiar Diagon Alley. He brushed the soot from her clothing as he spoke, and Charlie tried to keep upright. "Yer a mess! What were ya doin' down Knockturn Alley?"

"I was with the Weasleys at their place and they told me how to Floo to Diagon Alley, but I didn't speak very clearly and I ended up in that dreadful place." Charlie explained. "What were you doing there?"

"Gettin' some Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent. School cabbages are bein' ruined. C'mon, we better go find the Weasleys."

The two set off down the street and they were instantly met by Arthur and the four Weasley boys and Harry. Ron took in her sooty appearance and arched an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

"I went to Knockturn Alley." Charlie answered.

"Brilliant!" Fred and George exclaimed.

"It's not a place fer you boys." Hagrid growled. Molly and Ginny joined them seconds later and Molly fussed over Charlie's dirty clothes.

"You poor dear! I knew once you've gone through that you'd end up somewhere else." Molly set about dusting off the soot Hagrid missed and gasped when the large man told her he found Charlie in Knockturn Alley. "Oh, thank you Hagrid! Who knows what might have happened to her down that dreadful place?"

Hagrid then bid them goodbye and strode off. The group then entered Gringotts where they were ambushed by Hermione, who hugged them all and started pestering them about their marks. While Arthur talked enthusiastically to Hermione's parents, the three told the bushy-haired witch what marks they received. Hermione was pleased with them all.

"I knew you would do well Charlie, seeing as your in Ravenclaw. Don't give me that look Ron, you're not exactly studious. But I am very proud of you. Spending all that time in the library wasn't bad at all! You did very well too Harry. You know what, I'm going to help you both spike up that Potions grade. Professor Snape will be very surprised."

Ron snorted. "Yeah, considering that the only people in my family to have gotten anything above an A in his class are Percy and Bill."

"I've discovered that in order to take his class throughout the year you need to have an O in O.W.L's." Hermione informed them.

Charlie shook her head. Even though Hermione was a Muggle like her, she knew more about Hogwarts and the wizarding world. Harry stared at Hermione in disbelief. "You mean you want to take Potions all the way through?"

"Of course! It's a good skill to have." It was then Hermione took a good look at Charlie's appearance. "Oh! What happened to you?"

Charlie retold her story about the Floo incident and added the part where she encountered Draco at some odd store. Ron looked interested. "You saw him Borgin and Burkes? Did he buy anything?"

"No, he was selling."

Ron seemed to be satisfied by that. "Dad will be pleased. That means Lucius is nervous...Dad really wants to nail him for something, but Mum doesn't him to mess with the Malfoys."

They ended their conversation when Molly managed to pull Arthur away from the Grangers and they all piled into the cart (with the exception of Harry and Hermione, who already money on them) and Charlie closed her eyes as the horrible ride began.

"I hate that thing!" She rasped when it finally stopped. She stumbled into her vault and hastily shoved some money into her pouch and hurried back to the cart. If Ron noticed her fortune, he didn't comment.

The Weasleys collected the little they had and emerged back into the main lobby. Molly ordered them to meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour and they all set off.

"Did you know that Houselves don't get paid for what they do?" Hermione said hotly as they walked down the street. "They don't get holidays either! And they have to punish themselves if they do something wrong!"

Ron explained that the majority of the elves liked what they did, with some odd ones not. He also said that a family can order an elf not to punish themselves and it's only the hard-hearted wizard families that did. Hermione didn't look satisfied by this, but she dropped the topic.

"Well, where should we go first?" Harry asked.

"I suppose we ought to stock up on potion supplies and get some more ink and parchment." Charlie said, and they went off to the Apothecary first. Hermione made them get some supplies they didn't need, because 'you never know'.

They then went and bought some new ink and parchment and although Ron protested, she bought him a new set of quills because his were old. Their next stop was to get new school robes for everyone but Charlie, since she was the same size as last year.

When they approached Flourish and Blotts Hermione let out a shrill shriek that caused the three of them to jump a foot in the air.

"What's wrong?" Harry cried, whirling about.

Hermione pointed at a large banner hanging about the store in excitement. "Gilderoy Lockhart is here! Oh, we can meet him! Come on, let's go!"

"Oh no," Harry and Ron moaned. "She's a fan!"

Charlie would admit that the blonde-haired blue-eyed wizard was attractive, but she wasn't exactly one to fawn over celebrities. The kids entered the shop and Ron whistled upon seeing the long line of people. He then turned red with embarrassment when he spotted his mother among those in line.

"You've got to be joking..." he muttered.

The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione's parents were there as well. Hermione joined the queue and Charlie shook her head.

"Charlotte Potter!" The photographer that was hanging around exclaimed excitedly. Gilderoy glanced up and when he spotted her, he beamed.

"It is Charlotte Potter! Come on up, no need to be shy!" Gilderoy coaxed and Charlie reluctantly joined him at the front of the store.

Her hand was grabbed in a strong grip and soon the photographer was taking pictures madly. "This is such a delight for everyone, I'm sure." Gilderoy smiled at all his fans. When the photographer finally stopped clicking his camera Charlie pulled her hand back and gave it a shake.

It had gone numb.

"This is a wonderful moment for all of us!" Lockhart said joyfully. "When Charlotte Potter walked in here today, she only expected to leave with my collection of books, which she will get free of charge, of course. But I have grand news-I will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The crowd cheered and Hermione looked ready to pass out. Ron and Harry looked horrified and Charlie just grimaced on the inside. On the outside she said, "That's great, sir! And it's very generous of you to give me my school books for free."

"It's nothing at all!" Lockhart smiled charmingly at her and Charlie found herself balancing a pile of glossy, winking covers of his books.

She carefully went back to her friends and when Lockhart wasn't looking she toppled them all into Ginny's cauldron. When the girl looked up at her in surprise, Charlie said, "You can have them. I'll buy my own." Ginny beamed gratefully at her.

"That was quite a show, Potter!"

Charlie groaned as the annoying shrill of voice of Pansy Parkinson reached her ears. _If Draco is with her, I swear I'll-_

"Did your big head inflate any larger?" And that was Malfoy.

"Leave her alone!" Ron snapped as he and Harry came over with their books.

Pansy sneered at him. "Oh dear, it seems like your family will go broke after all this. Don't worry; we could use some new maids."

Ron and Ginny turned bright red. Arthur came over to them and was going to usher them out (Ron looked ready to punch someone) but then Lucius Malfoy walked in.

Well...it didn't go well.

After insulting his financial status and calling him a disgrace to a wizarding name, Arthur's temper broke when Lucius insulted his family. Ginny's cauldron was smacked and soon books were flying everywhere. Hagrid showed up at some point and pulled the two apart. Lucius sneered at them all with malice and lugged the two Slytherins from the store, cursing under his breath.

"That was eventful," Ron muttered as the kids stooped down to collect their books.

The assistant shooed them away, not caring that they hadn't paid for their books and kicked them out. Molly was mortified and Arthur subdued. Hagrid walked them back to the pub where the Weasleys would use the fireplace and the Grangers (poor Hermione's parents couldn't stop shaking) would be heading back to their Muggle bus. Molly apologized for the display and they started going into the Floo, one by one.

Charlie was terribly pleased that she did it properly when she ended up in the Weasleys sitting room.

Harry adjusted his book stack as he went next and started in confusion at the small black book he had acquired. Shrugging, he figured he would find out what it was later.

**I would have updated sooner but I had homework to do. Hope you enjoy!**


	4. The Flying Car

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**The Flying Car**

Charlie wished she could say that the morning of their departure for Hogwarts had gone smoothly, but it was anything but.

She overslept and was hastily lugging her trunk down the stairs. Harry passed by with a piece of toast in his hand and shouted that she was still in her pyjamas. After getting dressed as quickly as she could Charlie nearly tripped down the stairs when she and Ron slammed into each other.

Trunks were piling outside the car as everyone dashed back in to grab miscellaneous items. Ron wailed that he couldn't find Scabbers and Harry helped him hunt for the rat. The poor thing was hiding under the dresser from Snowy. Charlie scolded her cat and apologized to Ron, who quickly forgave her and asked if she could put Snowy in her cage until they got to Hogwarts. Charlie agreed and gave her cat a gentle swat on the nose before placing her in her cage.

Charlie had hoped she would be able to get away with skipping breakfast but Mrs. Weasley caught her and ordered to have three pieces of toast and a glass of milk.

Percy lumbered down the stairs with his owl and bellowed for Fred and George. His prefect badge was gone and he was going to hex whoever took it. Fred and George snickered and only gave it back when Mrs. Weasley grabbed hold of their ears.

Harry and Charlie hunted frantically for their missing textbooks and found them lodged under the couch. Neither had an explanation for how they got there.

The ghoul in the attack seemed to enjoy the ruckus they were making and wanted to be a part of it. It clanged on the pipes and wailed loudly.

Soon the trunks were all piled into the car's boot (which had been enchanted by Arthur so everything would fit) and everyone was sitting inside the Ford Anglia, red faced and sweaty.

They didn't get far.

George had to go back for his box of who-knows-what, Fred forgot his broomstick and Percy had forgotten his folder of summer homework. Ron swore loudly and was whacked on the head by his mother. Harry hastily went through all his school books to make sure everything was there and discovered that the black book was a diary. He had no clue how he acquired it, but shrugged and stuffed it back in his trunk.

The group finally made it to King's Cross ten minutes before the train was to depart. Molly would not let Arthur fly them there, and traffic was a doozie. Everyone ploughed through the barrier and the last ones to go were Charlie, Ron and Harry. They sprinted for it and waited to go through.

Yeah...it didn't happen.

Charlie shrieked as she bounced off and her trunk and cat flew off. Snowy hissed angrily and Charlie shoved herself up and hastily collected her stuff. "Sorry! Lost control there!" She hollered to the disapproving guard staring at them.

Harry stared in horror at the clock. "We missed the train!"

"Fantastic," Charlie muttered and slumped to the ground.

"Now what?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean, 'now what?'? We wait for Ron's parents."

Ron was inspecting the barrier. "Well, if we can't get through, then they can't get out. We don't have an owl to send ahead..." He brightened. "I know! We'll Dad's car!"

"Brilliant idea. You two go ahead, I'll stay here."

"Why?"

Charlie gave him a look. "Ron, it's dangerous and we could be seen. I'm sure your parents will be out any moment."

"It'll be easier if we use Dad's car!" Ron insisted.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Charlie warned.

"Fine then. We'll see who gets to Hogwarts first!" Ron huffed and stormed off, lugging his trunk behind him. "Come on Harry!"

Harry groaned and followed him. He didn't want to leave Ron alone in a flying car-perhaps he could persuade the redhead to change his mind.

...

No, Ron couldn't be persuaded.

Their trunks were in the back and Harry stared outside nervously. The sight was beautiful, he would admit, but he was certain Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be pleased with the pair of them.

"Do you see the Hogwarts Express?" Ron asked as he steered through the clouds. The Invisibility Booster had shorted out sometime ago.

Harry pressed his face to the glass and spotted the scarlet steam engine. "There it isssssssssss!"

The door gave way and Harry toppled out, hanging on with one hand onto the inside door handle. Ron cried out and hastily reached for his hand. Harry grabbed hold with his other and clambered back in. He slammed the door shut and panted heavily, face pale.

"...are we there yet?"

...

Charlie had waited about an hour before the Weasleys (and a few others) came through the barrier. Molly was very relieved to see Charlie waiting patiently for them but then grew concerned. "Where are Ron and Harry?"

"Er...let's just say we won't be driving back to the Burrow." Charlie commented.

Molly's face turned a nasty purple. Arthur quickly put a hand on her shoulder. "Now Molly. They're long gone by now. Only thing we can do is go back home and Floo Dumbledore. I'll Apparate Charlie into Hogsmeade and walk her to the castle."

Molly nodded stiffly and they went outside to a secluded position. Charlie looked at him curiously. "Mr. Weasley, what's Apparate mean?"

"Oh! Well...I suppose you could compare it to Muggle's fictional teleporting. But you can't Apparate anywhere, mind you. Hogwarts has wards around it that prevent people from Apparating onto the grounds. Now I must warn you, it's an unpleasant experience. I'll take your trunk and Snowy first-be right back."

Arthur disappeared with a slight _pop _and Charlie stared in awe. He was back just as soon and held out his arm. "Go ahead and grabbed hold."

Charlie did.

Everything went back and she could not breath. A horrible sensation went through her body and she found herself on the ground, vomiting. Arthur patted her on the back and assured her he had done the same thing when he first Apparated.

Arthur picked up her trunk from where it had been waiting and Charlie let Snowy out of her cage. They began the long walk to Hogwarts and Charlie hoped that her two friends were okay.

...

"You called, Albus?" Severus drawled as he entered the Headmaster's office.

"Yes. Would you mind patrolling the grounds outside the castle for a bit?" Albus questioned. Severus noticed the concern in his blue eyes and arched an eyebrow.

"For what reason?"

"It seems that two students took Arthur's enchanted car to get to Hogwarts because they missed the train. Molly's just warned me."

Severus snorted. "The Weasley twins, no doubt."

"Try again."

The only other Weasley that was as reckless as his twin brothers was the youngest son. "Ronald then, eh? Too bad he couldn't take after Percy or Bill...I assume Potter was the second student with him? Wanted to arrive in style, did she?"

"Your assumption is wrong. Charlotte stayed behind and waited for Molly and Arthur because she felt it would be foolish to travel to Hogwarts in such a way."

Severus, not having anything to say to that, huffed and left. At the back of his mind, that nagging voice told him that just because she had James' facial structure and hair, she also had Lily's eyes, mind and attitude.

...

Charlie had gotten to Hogwarts early and Minerva took this chance to send her to Madame Pomfrey. A Houself appeared at her calling and brought Charlie's trunk to her dorm room.

Charlie curiously entered Madame Pomfrey's office. "Professor McGonagall sent me." She noticed her Head of House in the corner, eyeing her with concern and disapproval.

Pomfrey was not happy. "Is there any particular reason why you didn't tell anyone you were starved regularly?"

Charlie stumbled back in surprise and horror. The last thing she wanted was the Dursleys to get in trouble. It would be more trouble than it was worth. "I'm not! I mean-"

Pomfrey poked her in the sides. "You're the smallest thing I've ever seen!"

Filius could see the horror in Charlie's eyes and was worried. "Miss Potter, it's simply not right for you to be punished in such a way."

Charlie sighed heavily. "I know..."

"Albus will take care of your aunt and uncle, now sit down and let me run a diagnostic."

Charlie obeyed and Pomfrey ran her wand over her. Data spilled from the tip of her wand and Pomfrey was reading it intently. "You lack the proper vitamins you need...no wonder you're so pale. I'm going to draw up a list of vitamins you need to take and you will take them every designated meal time."

"Miss Potter, when I said in your first year that I expected my students to be down in the Great Hall for two meals, I meant that you had to _eat_, not just show up." Filius said sternly. "I will be watching you Miss Potter, and you _will _be in the Great Hall for all meal times until I and Madame Pomfrey are satisfied and believe you'll be safe to skip a meal or two."

"Yes Professor." Charlie responded.

It felt nice to have people care.

...

Night had fallen and the boys had finally reached Hogwarts, much to Harry's relief. "Thank Merlin!"

Then they slammed into a tree when they ran out of gas.

Harry's head slammed off the dashboard and he groaned. His glasses cracked and Ron shouted out in horror. "My wand snapped!"

"It could have been your neck!"

The car thrashed to the side and the boys froze. "What was that?" Ron asked fearfully.

Harry couldn't believe it. "The tree punched us!"

"You've lost it!"

The tree was not happy and was indeed assaulting the car. Ron and Harry screamed as one of the braches broke through the windows and glass flew everywhere. The car creaked loudly and fell to the ground. Ron and Harry toppled over and the car fell silent, whereas the tree was still thrashing about.

"What kind of tree was that?" Ron rasped, wiping blood off of his bottom lip.

Before Harry could respond the car shook violently. The two boys cried out as they were launched into the air. They slammed into the ground and their trunks followed suit. Ron hastily grabbed hold of his rat before he could scamper away.

Ron watched in shock as the Ford Anglia revved up and sped for the Forbidden Forest. "Dad's gonna kill me!"

"Ron, I'm sure he was going to kill you even if the car stayed." Harry said flatly. He climbed slowly to his feet and winced.

"Decided to arrive in style, did we boys?"

The silky, familiar voice caused Ron and Harry to freeze in horror. "Professor Snape?" Ron asked nervously.

Snape came out of the shadows and eyed each boy. They were covered in scrapes and cuts and both had a fair amount of blood on both of them. "Are either of you in need of urgent medical attention?"

"No sir," both boys chorused.

Snape nodded. "My office. Now."

...

Charlie met Hermione as she entered the Great Hall. The bushy haired girl was very relieved to have discovered her best friend safe and sound, but frowned when her other two friends were not present. "Where are Ron and Harry?"

Charlie explained the closed barrier and Ron's determination to take the flying car. Hermione huffed and muttered under her breath. They sat down at the table and waited for the first years to arrive. The Sorting started (both Ravenclaws applauded loudly with the Gryffindors when Ginny was Sorted there) and ate when the food appeared. At one point there was a twinge of pain and a burst of fear, but it went away after a moment. Charlie frowned. This was really beginning to puzzle her.

Snape and McGonagall missed the Sorting (Flitwick did it this year) and Dumbledore left a bit later. All three teachers then returned and Snape was scowling.

"Well, they didn't get expelled." Charlie remarked as she picked at her potatoes. A frown from Hermione and a stern glare from Madame Pomfrey caused her to eat everything on her plate.

Harry and Ron encountered them after the feast. "We were seen by seven Muggles, Ron's dad might lose his job, we crashed into the Whomping Willow, Ron's wand broke, both our families will be getting letters, the car fled into the Forest and we both have detention." Harry summarized glumly. "Snape was gleeful; hoping we'd get expelled, McGonagall was angry and Dumbledore was disappointed. We are now on our way to the infirmary."

"The Whomping Willow?" Charlie questioned curiously.

"It's tree that fights back." Harry muttered with a wince.

Ron, who had stayed silent, grumbled, "Well. My life is over. Who wants Scabbers?"

His responses were glances of sympathy and one 'I told you so'.

**The relation between Harry and Charlie will be explained eventually, I promise. **

**Two in one night! Wow. I surprise myself. **


	5. Strange Voices

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Edited: I did the ending over because I forgot Charlie has no reason to be in detention :P**

**Strange Voices**

"Any ideas on how the barrier closed?" McGonagall asked Albus as they walked through the corridors, making sure no students dawdled.

Albus sighed. "The only answer I have come up with seems highly unlikely."

"Well?" Minerva prodded.

"The barrier is made up of strong magic that only I can penetrate, and I assure you that I didn't. The only creature that could do such a thing was either Voldemort or a Houself, and I am leaning on the latter."

Minerva stared at him in disbelief. "You're choosing a Houself to be the culprit instead of You-Know-Who?"

"I do wish you would use his name. Minerva, Voldemort is in no condition to try anything, so you have nothing to fear there."

"But I should fear elsewhere?"

"Perhaps the Houself was sent to pull a little prank. Houselves have rather extraordinary magic...poor things are underestimated by most."

"Albus, I sincerely doubt it was a Houself that closed the barrier."

"We can only wait and see, Minerva." But Albus Dumbledore had a hunch, and his hunches were usually correct.

...

Hermione and Charlie approached the eagle knocker and waited for it to ask a riddle.

"_I fly in the air, but I am not always there. I cannot be touched, but I can be felt or held. Think very hard, but if you live near the equator, you may have a tough time seeing me."___

"Your breath," Hermione and Charlie answered in unison.

The door swung open and the two climbed the spiralling staircase. They entered the domed Ravenclaw Common Room and Charlie looked around, grinning. "So, how much do you want to bet Ron's enjoying the attention?"

Hermione chuckled. "I'm sure he is. Perhaps just a little bit of the spot light will be good for him. Hopefully he'll think before doing something idiotic like taking a flying car."

Charlie laughed. "I don't think we've been enough of an influence on him."

...

Ron nervously ate his eggs the next morning at breakfast. His eyes darted for the open windows anxiously as he awaited the post. His twin brothers might have found his little stunt amusing, but his mother certainly won't.

It was then a swarm of owls descended into the Great Hall. Two bright red envelopes stood out amongst the multitude of feathers and cream envelopes and brown packages. Harry let out a frightened squeak from the Hufflepuff table.

Ron and Harry received their Howlers, and Ron felt a bit of relief. Perhaps they wouldn't be able to hear them clearly since they would go off at the same time. With both of them off at the same time, the speeches would blend together in a hopefully incomprehensible mess.

No such luck.

To Ron's dismay his Howler began to smoke first. Harry shot him a sympathetic look and grabbed his Howler and bolted from the Hall while he still had the chance. Ron winced and braced himself.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!"

Ron turned bright red.

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE YOUR FATHERS CAR? DO YOU KNOW HOW I WORRIED I WAS WHEN I FOUND IT MISSING? YOU AND HARRY COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! I'M VERY ASHAMED OF YOU YOUNG MAN; I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THIS! YOUR FATHER IS NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU! YOU BETTER SHAPE UP MISTER AND START FOLLOWING CHARLOTTE'S EXAMPLE! I WANT NOTHING BUT GOOD BEHAVIOUR FROM YOU FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR! UNDERSTOOD?"

It was when Ron practically hollered "Understood!" in a panicked voice that everyone burst out laughing. Charlie shook her head and muttered, "I told him so." She had not received the vitamins she was supposed to take yet and tried to get through breakfast by eating a piece of toast and a sausage.

Then Hermione cuffed her on the head and started piling some fruit and muffins onto her plate, ordering her to eat it all.

...

Harry pressed against the door of the Great Hall, relieved that his Howler was Charmed to go off when Ron's finished. It gave him time to make his escape and listen to it in private. He could not help but chuckle when he heard Ron holler "Understood!"

The Hufflepuff then spotted the smoke curling from his Howler and quickly opened it. His Uncle's disappointed voice filled the empty corridors.

"HARRY LUPIN, I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. I KNOW I TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THAT! I EXPECT YOU TO WRITE AN APOLOGY TO MOLLY AND ARTHUR RIGHT AWAY. YOU NEVER STEAL SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU AND YOU NEVER PLACE YOURSELF IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION. YOU BOTH COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. BEHAVE, YOUNG MAN."

The Howler burst into flames and disappeared. Harry felt terribly guilty. His Uncle Lupin had never been the yelling type, but his tone of disappointment was just as effective. He knew Remus Lupin wasn't really his uncle; he was his father's best friend. Remus explained to him when he was seven that his parents were killed during the First Wizarding War. They had been working for Dumbledore and gone on a mission.

They didn't come back.

Remus took him in when he was one year old. Harry had a picture of his parents in his trunk; perhaps he would show them to his friends one day. His mother had long, dark blonde hair and kind hazel eyes. His father had neat chocolate brown hair and dark brown eyes.

Harry certainly did not know that the story of his parents' death was fudged a bit, and he did not know that the picture of his parents was modified. When he asked about his true last name (he didn't mind that Remus legally changed it to Lupin) his uncle had responded with Evans.

The Hufflepuff sighed and hurried back into the Hall. He would be sure to write an apology to the Weasleys and to his uncle.

...

Charlie had been on her way to Transfiguration when Gilderoy Lockhart appeared and beamed at her. Charlie had been hoping desperately that she would only have to deal with him in class, but he seemed to have taken a liking to her.

"Charlotte!" Lockhart exclaimed. "I've been meaning to have a word with you."

"But Professor, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm going to be late for class and-"

Lockhart waved a hand. "I'm sure your teacher will understand! Now, I just wanted to tell that it wasn't your fault, and you shouldn't feel that way at all."

At first Charlie thought he was talking about the brawl between Mr. Weasley and Lucius, but didn't think that was the case. Completely confused, she asked, "Pardon sir?"

"No need to be embarrassed! I have friends like that as well. They get jealous of the attention we receive and want to be in the spot light for a little bit. It's perfectly normal! Young Ronald and Harry will soon learn that being friends with a famous person is just as good as being famous!"

Charlie realized that Lockhart was talking about Ron and Harry arriving in the flying car. "Sir-!"

"Don't worry; I'll have a little talk with them." Lockhart assured her and set off down the corridor, whistling happily. Charlie stared after him in disbelief before running the rest of the way to Transfiguration.

McGonagall looked up sharply when she entered late and Hermione frowned in disapproval. "Would you like to tell me why you're late to my class, Miss Potter?" She demanded.

Charlie stared at her. "Professor Lockhart pulled me aside to have a chat..."

Noting her exasperated expression, McGonagall knew that Lockhart had been pestering the young girl as he had the staff with his ridiculous suggestions. "I see. Take a sit, Miss Potter."

It was the only time Hermione actually talked all the way through class in hopes of getting Charlie to spill her encounter with Gilderoy Lockhart.

...

Charlie and Hermione were walking through the courtyard, Lunch had ended and their next class was Charms, which was Charlie's favourite class. Herbology had been especially tedious that day, and working with Mandrakes was not fun at all.

"Charlotte Potter!" An excited, high-pitched voice cried.

Surprised, she turned around and stared down at a very small boy clutching a Muggle camera. "Hello there. What's your name?"

The boy beamed. "I'm Colin Creevey! I'm in the Gryffindor House and I've heard so much about you! I was so excited when I found out I was a wizard and I love it here! A bunch of people were talking about the Girl-Who-Lived and I read a bunch of books about you and I think you're really neat!" All of this was said with barely a breath taken. "Can I take a picture?" He asked hopefully.

Hermione was staring at him in amusement and Charlie wanted to decline. But the kid was so cute and innocent...

"Potter! I want one too!"

Charlie pushed Colin behind her without taking her eyes off of Pansy. The girl probably would fire off a hex or two, and her aim was just awful. "Sorry, I don't give pictures to people who might use it as a dart board."

Her comeback was completely lost on Pansy and Charlie sighed. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see if your head could get any bigger. And it can!" Pansy snickered. Hermione was muttering under her breath, "Just ignore her, just ignore her..."

Charlie was having a difficult time doing so, but then the familiar voice of Gilderoy Lockhart called over to them and he was there in an instant. Hermione stared at him with wide-eyes and Charlie wanted to slam her head off of something.

"Now, now, let's not squabble." Lockhart said cheerfully. "You there, young man! Why don't you take a picture of both of us? We'll even sign it for you."

Charlie wanted to crawl into a hole.

But she managed a smile as Colin eagerly snapped a picture and scampered away. Lockhart turned and smiled knowingly at her. "I know fame can be tempting and you want to please your fans, but handing out signed pictures is a bit too much right now. Good thing I interfered, or else your peers might have thought you were a bit big for your britches!" He laughed jovially, ruffled her hair and strode off.

Charlie stared after with an open mouth. She clamped it shut when she heard snickers and stormed off, pinching the bridge of her nose and muttering under her breath.

...

"Poor thing," Sprout commented as she watched Charlie storm off. She and McGonagall were doing a quick round about the courtyard when they noticed Parkinson antagonizing Potter. The girl kept her temper in check and they were about to intervene when that blonde fraud beat them to it.

"Besides the girls that fawn over the man, she's the only person in this place that can tolerate him without grimacing or scowling." McGonagall shook her head. "I don't know what Albus was thinking..."

"He wasn't thinking. That's why he was in Gryffindor."

"Shut up, Pomona!"

...

Charlie sat in between Ron and Hermione during Defense Against the Dark Arts. They had it with the Gryffindors and Ron looked as excited to be there as she was.

The first ten minutes was spent with Lockhart giving them a summary of his very beginnings. Then he handed out a stack of papers to every student in the class and told them they had a half hour. Charlie stared in disbelief at the questions-they were all about his personal interests!

Although it was not a very Ravenclaw thing to do, she and Ron spent the majority of the time coming up with ridiculous answers and they nearly busted a gut. Hermione was too engrossed in her test to scold them.

By the end only Hermione had aced the exam (Charlie and Ron shook their heads) and after being challenged by Seamus Finnigan he opened up a cage of pixies with flourish.

The man was an idiot.

Blue pixies swarmed everywhere, poking people and stealing items. Lockhart lost his wand and hastily booked it to safety with the rest of the class. Hermione set about getting Neville down from the chandelier (those pixies were extremely strong) and she and Ron collected up the rest. Bruised and battered, they left for Potions.

...

True to her word, Hermione helped Harry throughout Potions class, explaining the procedures and concepts. She knew Ron would be getting a session as well when they went to the library tonight. Ron and Harry both reluctantly agreed to spend at least three hours in the library three times a week.

Harry found all her encounters with Lockhart amusing and he found Colin to be brilliant. "The little guy kills me!" He had laughed after Charlie endured another photo.

Ron had a mishap in Charms where his wand flew out of his hand and nailed Flitwick between the eyes. A nasty green wart sprung up and Ron groaned when he was assigned extra homework. "I hate this wand!" He cried out, burying his head in his hands.

Hermione eyed the green sparks that were spouting off from the tip of his cracked wand (now held together by magical tape) warily and said, "It's your own fault. You'll simply have to make do with this one until you either save enough money for a new wand or your parents take pity on you."

Scarlet found her at dinner and told her the first practice would take place at dawn. Charlie nodded and got ready for a long, gruelling practice the next morning.

...

Charlie and Hermione walked across the dew covered grass the next morning to the Quidditch pitch. There they discovered the Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor teams scattered about the pitch, arguing with each other. Ron, who had come so he could watch his brothers, noticed them and shuffled over, an annoyed expression on his face.

"What I'd like to know," he began when he reached them. "Is how on earth did the pitch become triple-booked?"

Charlie ran a hand through her long raven hair. "Er...Professor Snape gave a note without checking, Professor McGonagall actually wrote down her booking, and Professor Flitwick forgot to book us after he gave his permission."

Ron snorted. "And they say we're the irresponsible ones."

"Ronald!" Hermione rebuked.

The three went back over to the quarrelling teams. "We hardly got any pitch time last year!" Scarlet was arguing to Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood, the other Quidditch Captains for their respective House teams. "The both of you nearly mauled each other over who got to practice!"

"I'll be mauling someone soon if you don't get off the pitch!" Marcus snapped, waving the note in their faces.

Oliver scowled. "But Snape didn't _write _down the booking! He just gave you a note! And Ezra, Flitwick didn't do _anything_!"

"That doesn't change the fact we get less practice time than the both of you jerks!" Scarlet hissed.

While the Captains went at it, the other team members were either glowering at each other or just looking on in exasperation. "It's bloody five in the morning!" Fred finally howled. "If we're not going practice, can we go back to bed?"

"DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE!" Wood bellowed, glaring at him. "We are getting this pitch!"

Charlie soon discovered that Flint was a ruthless captain, Wood was an uptight and obsessed one and Ezra, as she already knew, was pretty laid-back but didn't take flak from anyone. And she got nuts when it came down to the final tournament.

"How on earth do you plan on catching the Seeker with _that _twig?"

Charlie turned to stare at a group dressed in emerald Slytherin robes. Pint-sized blonde Malfoy was in the middle, smirking at her. Every Slytherin clutched the latest Nimbus broomstick. "I'm going to guess that you're the new Slytherin Seeker?"

"Brilliant!" Malfoy cried. "The Hat made a good choice in placing you in Ravenclaw."

Hermione scowled at him. "At least she and the others got on their teams with pure talent. They didn't have to_ buy_ their way in..."

Malfoy glowered at her while the surrounding Gryffindors and Ravenclaws laughed. **"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood!"**

Everyone except for the Slytherins gasped in horror. Tommy, Clancy, Fred and George tried to jump Draco but were held back their level-headed team members. Ron tried to hex him but his wand backfired and he crumpled onto the grass, barfing up slugs.

The Slytherins would have burst out laughing if they weren't busy protecting Draco from a bunch of furious Lions and Eagles. Hermione and Charlie grabbed Ron by one arm and lugged him off the field. Hermione stared at her in shock. "I assume that 'Mudblood' is some sort of swear word."

Charlie could only shrug. They carried Ron all the way to Hagrid's hut. The large man opened the door and looked delighted to see them. "Though' yeh were Lockhart again...he's bin pesterin' me and tryin' ter give me advice, bu' I know codswallop when I hear it."

Hermione frowned. "I'm sure his advice is very good! He wouldn't have written all those books for nothing."

Charlie and Hagrid exchanged glances. Hermione did not notice and continued on in defense of the DADA teacher. "And I'm sure Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have hired him if he was no good."

"He was the on'y person tha' applied fer the job!" Hagrid informed her. "Dumbledore had no choice bu' ter hire him. Everyone else thinks the position is cursed."

Ron had stumbled in and was now upchucking into a basin. Charlie patted him gently on the back and shook her head. "You shouldn't have tried to hex him."

"Hex who?" Hagrid asked, watching as Ron barfed up the slugs. "What happened?"

Hermione explained how Draco called her a Mudblood and Hagrid looked furious. "Don' listen ter a word tha' boy says! Yer a great witch, Hermione, better than some o' them tha' come from pureblood families, Malfoy included."

"What is a Mudblood?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It means someone of dirty blood," Ron managed to croak. "Particularly those who are Muggle born and aren't pureblood."

"Ridiculous," Hagrid muttered. "Hey Charlie, how come I haven't gotten a signed picture yet?"

Charlie spluttered out in mortification and horror. "I haven't been signing pictures and I haven't been handing them out and Lockhart is getting on my nerves and-"

But Hagrid burst out laughing and Charlie knew he was kidding. Scowling, she settled back against the couch and muttered, "Ron, hurry up and barf up those slugs."

...

McGonagall found them after they headed back inside the castle and gave Ron his detention assignment. Ron was with Filch in the trophy room and poor Harry had been assigned detention with Snape, as the frantic Hufflepuff had found them in the entrance hall and went into a panic.

Charlie chuckled and left Ron to listen to his fears. She bid the two goodbyes as she and Hermione headed off for their Common Room. Luck was not on her side however, and she ran into Lockhart.

The blonde man beamed at her. "Charlotte! I've been hoping to run into you! I could use your help with something very important. Would you be a dear and come with me, if it's not too much trouble?"

Not having the ability to say no to the man with harmless intentions (no matter how much they annoyed her) she agreed and waved goodbye to Hermione, who looked dazed and star struck.

Four hours later Charlie shook out her cramped hand after answering the last of his fan mail. This was not what she had been expecting when he said he wanted her help. She had long since tuned out his voice.

"_**Come...come to me...let me rip you...let me tear you...let me kill you..."**_

The raspy voice caused Charlie to jump in shock. She looked around the room frantically, but the only people there were the two of them. The voice died away and Charlie was spooked. "Did you hear that?"

Lockhart looked at her in surprise. "Hear what?"

"The-the voice..." Charlie trailed off when Lockhart looked at her in astonishment.

"I'm afraid you must be hearing things! It is rather late, isn't it? Go on then, to bed with you. Thank you very much for your help, we'll have to do it again sometime."

Charlie walked back to her Common Room, casting uneasy glances around her. She was hearing voices that others couldn't.

...Yeah, she had finally snapped.


	6. Souls of the Party

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**BTW; I edited the very end of the last chapter. Charlie was not supposed to be in detention, my bad :P**

**Souls of the Party**

"You heard voices?" Hermione asked Charlie in interest. "And there was no one in the room besides you and Professor Lockhart?"

"It was the strangest thing..." Charlie whispered. She and Hermione were sitting in the corner of the Ravenclaw Common Room. It was much too early to head down for breakfast, so she was filling Hermione in on the strange occurrence. "It said it wanted to kill somebody...but I'm not sure who or what it was."

Hermione hummed in thought. "Let's see if it happens again and then we'll do some research. Now, have you had anymore strange bursts of fear or pain?"

Surprised that Hermione remembered her supposed connection to Harry, she nodded. "When he and Ron crashed the car; he was scared and then he got hurt, so I felt both fear and pain."

"Very interesting!" Hermione tapped her chin. "You know, I think I'll ask Harry if he feels anything like that as well. Perhaps the two of you have some sort of wizard bond!"

Charlie had never considered that Harry might be having the same unexplainable feelings as she did, and a magic bond never crossed her mind as a possible answer. "Gee, I never thought of that."

Hermione was excited. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if the two of you had a bond? I've heard they're really rare...the two of you must be very close." She did not even sound jealous at the idea of Harry having a bond with her best friend.

"I suppose so..." Charlie furrowed her brow. She liked Harry very much, he was a brilliant friend. But if she was to have a bond with anyone, she would have thought it to be Hermione. "Well, breakfast should be starting soon. Let's get down there before the crowd."

...

"McGonagall is going to kill me!" Charlie wailed as she booked it down the empty corridor. All she had done was go back to her Common Room (she had forgotten her textbook) and when she started the walk to her Transfiguration class, Lockhart cornered her-again!

She knew McGonagall would hex the man if he was the cause of her tardiness, and despite the fact he was annoying and full of codswallop, she didn't want harm to come to the guy.

But then her well of ink bounced from her book bag (the flap was undone) and shattered to the floor, the black liquid pooling into a large puddle. Mrs. Norris stalked around the corner, took one look and hurried off. Charlie flung her hands in the air in exasperation and waited for the grouchy caretaker to come huffing around the corner.

Filch had been ill the past few days and this had not helped his mood. As she was being lugged away, being accused of making a mess on purpose just to spite him, Peeves the poltergeist flew by, cackling. Filch hissed at the troublesome ghost and shoved her forward. Catching the mischievous beady eyes, she mouthed desperately,

"_Help me!"_

Not expecting the ghost to actually help her, Charlie groaned as she was thrust into the man's cramped office. She slumped into a hard wooden chair and wondered if he would believe it was an accident.

Nope. He seemed to be stuck in believing that every student in the school was plotting to drive him over the edge. While he wasn't too far off, there were a select few who felt some sympathy for the man.

Although her sympathy for Filch was starting to dwindle.

Then a gigantic crash sounded from above and Filch cackled gleefully. "I got you now Peeves!" He took off with his cat racing behind him.

Charlie ran a hand through her raven hair and glanced around the office. She noted a folder on his desk labelled Kwikspell. Knowing it was wrong to snoop, she figured she would ask Hermione later. The caretaker hurried back into the office and shooed her out; he had an urgent report to write on Peeves.

"Peeves?" Charlie whispered to herself as she hurried down the corridor, hoping McGonagall wouldn't curse her for showing up to class halfway through. "He wouldn't have...would he?"

To her surprise the snickering poltergeist appeared in front of her. "Filchy was mad, he was! Potter owes her life to Peevsie, she does."

Charlie grinned. "I wouldn't say my life, but I definitely owe you a favour. Thanks, Peeves."

"It's fun to mess with old Filchy!" Peeves said happily and zoomed off. Charlie rushed the rest of the way to Transfiguration, wondering if she made Hogwarts History.

Peeves never listened, never mind helped, a student before.

...

McGonagall hadn't been happy, but she refrained from giving her extra homework when Charlie correctly transfigured her beetle into a button. It was their last class of the day and so Charlie, Ron and Hermione went to the library to do their three hours of studying and homework. Harry joined them moments later.

Hermione placed a rather large book in front of them, blocking their faces from Charlie and Ron. "Do you get strange feelings of fear or pain like Charlie?" Hermione whispered.

Caught off guard, Harry just stared at her with wide brown eyes. Hermione nodded briskly. "I thought so." She lowered the book to find her two friends staring at her in amusement. "Ron, you and Harry review tomorrow's Potions lesson. After that, you Ron can get started on your Transfiguration essay and Harry can begin his Charms essay." She then got up and went to browse the stacks. Ron rifled through his bag before groaning. He had forgotten his Potions book in his Common Room. Since Harry, Charlie and Hermione did not have Potions that day; they could not lend him theirs.

Hermione returned and dropped a stack of books onto the worn wooden table. Charlie scanned the titles. "Do you really think Harry and I have a magical bond?"

Harry looked stunned by this, and Charlie explained Hermione's theory. "Well, I suppose it's possible..." Harry said slowly. "But very strange."

"Since she's looking all this up, I assume you've been feeling fear and pain as well?" Charlie asked in interest. When Harry nodded, she whistled softly. "Odd indeed..."

Ron came back with his book and he and Harry spent the next fifteen minutes reviewing their next lesson. When Ron didn't complain or grouse, Harry asked what was wrong.

"Er...Nearly Headless Nick found me when I was on my way back, and he asked me to his Deathday Party. It's like a birthday, but it's on the day you died. I didn't want to be rude, so I said I would go...someone come with me!" The last part was blurted out in desperation.

Hermione and Charlie thought a Deathday party would be very interesting, and Harry didn't want to be left behind. They all agreed to meet in the Charms corridor at the beginning of the Halloween Feast.

"Professor Flitwick won't be pleased..." Charlie mused. "But if I eat a decent breakfast and lunch that day, maybe he'll let me off. Hey! Did I tell you guys what Peeves did today?"

When she finished her story, no one could believe it. "Filch is taking a Kwikspell course?" Harry asked in interest.

"Yeah. What is it?"

"It's a course Squibs take. Squibs are people who are born into wizarding families but have no magic. I never knew Filch was a Squib..."

Charlie then realized why the man was so grouchy and bitter, and decided not to be so hard on the man.

...

Going to the Deathday party had been the worst decision of Charlie's life. It had been insanely cold, the food was far from edible and the music was causing her to go deaf. Most of the ghosts were friendly and tolerable (Moaning Myrtle was tottering on that line) but after a while the four kids excused themselves and hurried to see if they could make it back to the Great Hall.

"Ron, next time say you have a prior engagement." Harry muttered. "I have a permanent buzzing in my ears."

Charlie snorted.

"_**...rip...tear...kill..."**_

She halted so suddenly Ron ran into her. "Oi! What are you-?"

Charlie held up a hand for quiet, heart pounding. Her friends stared at her in concern, but stayed silent. Her eyes darted about the dark corridor, but there was no one else there.

"_**...soo hungry...for so long..."**_

To her bewilderment, the voice was growing fainter and seemed to be travelling upwards. She stared at the ceiling with a furrowed brow. She definitely heard the voice...but she wished she didn't. "Okay, this is going to sound weird, but I'm hearing a cold voice."

Her friends stared at her.

"_**...kill...time to kill...I smell blood...I SMELL BLOOD!"**_

"And it's going to kill someone..." Charlie added, biting her lower lip in concern. What should she do?

"Kill someone?" Ron exclaimed. "Then what are we standing 'round here for?"

He took off-in the direction of the cold, raspy voice. "RON!" Charlie bellowed. "You're running right towards it!"

The ginger didn't hear her.

"Typical Gryffindor!" Hermione muttered as they sprinted after him, wands out and eyes alert. They chased Ron all the way across the second floor before the boy skidded to a stop in a deserted corridor.

"Finally!" Harry puffed, holding onto his knees. Sweat dripped down his forehead and his face was red. "I thought he'd never stop!"

Hermione was about to scold Ron when she noticed him gawking, his face white, at the wall in front of them. The other three turned to see what he was staring at, and gasped.

On the wall in front of them in between two windows, written in blood, were the words:

**THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.  
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.**

Edging around the puddle of water gathered in front of the message (Myrtle must have made the pipes blow again) Charlie eyed the figure hanging from a torch bracket. Mrs. Norris was frozen and stiff, the light of the fire torches reflected in her dead, wide eyes.

"Poor thing," Hermione whispered. "Charlie, is this the work...of the voice?"

"I guess so," Charlie ran a hand through her raven hair. "But I don't know what the voice _is._"

"We'll find out later." Ron hissed. "We need to get out of here!"

But cheerful voices and echoing laughs told them that the Feast had ended. And that they were trapped.

The four students were stuck in the middle as crowds of students halted at both ends of the corridors, staring at the cat and then at them with shock. Silence rang throughout the air until two gleeful voices shouted out.

"**Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!"**

Pansy and Draco shoved to the front of the crowd, beaming at the sight of the frozen cat.

When Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape rounded the corner, Charlie knew that they were trouble.

Big trouble.


	7. So Much For a Quiet Year

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**So Much For a Quiet Year**

Charlie, Ron, Hermione and Harry followed Dumbledore and Snape down the corridors towards Dumbledore's office. Filch was in a raging temper and Dumbledore ordered him to go see Madame Pomfrey for a Calming Drought. Albus took the stiff Mrs. Norris with the promise that they would everything they could to help her.

Apparently, the cat wasn't dead.

They reached the gargoyle and Dumbledore whispered a password. It slid open and revealed a passage of stairs. They all entered the wide domed office and the four kids lined up in front of his desk. Hermione and Ron gawked at a magnificent phoenix standing on a perch. The bird trilled at them, as if in greeting, and the four kids waved cautiously.

Dumbledore smiled. "Ah yes, this is my familiar Fawkes. Phoenixes are wonderful creatures..." He placed the cat onto his desk and ran his wand over her. He mumbled spells under his breath while Snape glowered at them.

"She has been Petrified." Dumbledore announced. "It's a good thing Professor Sprout is harvesting her Mandrakes. The juice is the only cure for Petrifaction."

"But sir," Hermione spoke up. "What did such a thing?"

Snape sneered at her. "You know very well who did it. You four were the only ones near the cat when everyone caught you."

"Now Professor Snape," Dumbledore interjected. "These children are only second years. They are not capable of Petrifying nor do they have the amount of Dark Magic it takes to do so."

"We would never do such a thing!" Ron protested.

"Then why weren't you at the Feast?" Snape demanded.

"Nearly Headless Nick invited Ron to his Deathday Party, and Ron asked us all to go with him." Charlie explained. "We left to see if we could catch the end of the Feast when we came upon Mrs. Norris."

"Likely story," Snape drawled.

Dumbledore sent Snape off to find the Gryffindor ghost and the Potions professor returned moments later with a scowl. "They have an alibi," he muttered in disgust.

Dumbledore nodded. "I thought so. They had no reason to lie. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. All right, you four may head off to bed."

They hurried from his office and Charlie asked, "Perhaps I should have told him about the voice..."

"Hearing voices no one else can isn't a good thing, not even in the wizarding world." Ron told her. "I believe you of course, but maybe we should wait and see what the possible explanation is."

"You're beginning to sound like Hermione." Harry snickered.

Ron looked offended by that.

...

No one could talk about anything else besides Mrs. Norris and the Chamber of Secrets for the rest of the month. Everyone whispered theories and the Muggle-borns worried if they would be next. People were beginning to look at Charlie funny and gave her a wide berth in the corridors.

"They must think you're the Heir of Slytherin." Harry said in surprise as they headed for Herbology.

Charlie sighed. "I've never told you this, but the Hat considered placing me in Slytherin."

She got shocked looks from the both of them. "Could I really be the Heir?" Charlie asked nervously.

Hermione shook her head firmly. "I doubt it. Even if you were considered for Slytherin, you ended up in Ravenclaw. The Hat never makes a wrong decision."

Feeling better, they spent Herbology class tending to a plant that would bite you if you weeded it wrong.

...

It was during their library study session that they discovered the legend behind the Chamber of Secrets. Ron and Harry had finished their essays and Charlie brought out her copy of _Hogwarts: A History _(Hermione left hers at home and Charlie brought hers along) per Hermione's request.

The bushy-haired girl flipped through it rapidly. "It must be in here somewhere...found it!" They crowded around Hermione to see what she was so excited about.

_Salazar Slytherin disagreed with the other Hogwarts founders about the importance of blood purity and the acceptance of Muggle-borns at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The other Founders were against him in this matter and he left the school. Before he left he created a secret chamber deep underground in Hogwarts Castle – which is known as the Chamber of Secrets. This Chamber is home to a malicious beast that is supposed to purge the school of all Muggle-born students. Only his Heir could open the Chamber and over the centuries after Salazar Slytherin's death, many have searched the school to find the Chamber. _

_So, this is what Dobby meant by danger coming to Hogwarts. _Charlie thought.

Ron whistled. "Salazar was really set in his ways."

Harry gulped. "Do you really think the Chamber has been opened?"

"It seems that way..." Hermione mused. "Now all we have to do is figure out whom the Heir is."

Harry groaned. "This was supposed to be a quiet year!"

"Well, Malfoy and Parkinson were pretty happy when they found Mrs. Norris Petrified." Charlie said thoughtfully. "We could start with them."

"They might like to brag, but no way will they tell us anything." Ron pointed out.

Hermione hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I remember Professor Snape told us about the Polyjuice Potion. You put the hair of the person you want to take the form of into the finished potion and drink it. So if I put Charlie's hair into the potion and drank it, I would turn into Charlie."

"Isn't that a potion above our year?" Harry asked nervously.

"I'm sure we can do it. But I'll need the recipe and the book it's in is in the Restricted Section...I'll need a signature of a professor...be right back!"

Hermione raced from the library and Charlie sighed. "Ron, you've been a bad influence."

Ron just grinned. "So Charlie, are you ready for your first Quidditch match tomorrow?"

Charlie blinked in surprise. "I can't believe I forgot about that. Scarlet's been in a bad mood, considering we've only managed to practice three times in the past two months. I can't believe how fast November came..." A sudden thought struck her. "Harry! You didn't tell us about the tryouts, did you?"

Harry blushed. "I didn't want to ask you guys to come watch because I was afraid I would mess up or something. I wanted it to be a surprise, but yeah, I made Hufflepuff Chaser."

"Lucky!" Ron groaned. "I'm going to have to wait until my fourth year to try out. That's when Oliver's going to graduate, and I want to be a Keeper."

"Congratulations!" Charlie beamed at him.

Hermione tore back into the library moments later while they were all finishing up their homework (even Ron was beginning to agree that the library time wasn't such a bad thing) and only paused to rasp, "I got it!" before hurrying to Madame Pince.

"What's she on about?" Ron asked.

They didn't get an answer until Hermione came back to their table with a book on potions. She plopped down in her chair and took a few breathes. "I went to Professor Lockhart and he was happy to sign a permission form. He really is charming...anyway! This is the book the Polyjuice recipe is in and-"

Ron let out a rather high-pitched shriek and toppled off his chair. He scrambled backwards and pointed a shaking finger towards Hermione's hair. "What?" Hermione asked frantically. "What is it?"

"It's a spider," Charlie informed her, reaching up and plucking the fat black arachnid from her bushy hair. She walked over to the window, opened it and set it free.

"You're afraid of spiders?" Harry asked in interest.

Ron, white faced, nodded and crawled back into his chair. "Dead ones are alright, but I hate live ones."

Hermione cleared her throat. "Yes, I suspect one crawled into my hair when I was inspecting the area where Mrs. Norris got attacked. I remembered the puddles and went to see Moaning Myrtle to see if she saw anything, but she wasn't much help. There were dozens of spiders though...it was the strangest thing."

Ron shuddered.

"As I was saying, it takes a month to brew a Polyjuice potion. I know it's a long time, but I figure it's the only foolproof plan we have at the moment. If it is Malfoy or Parkinson, we'll find out in a month. We can make it in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom since no one uses it."

Ron surveyed the ingredients list on the Polyjuice page. "Hermione, where are we going to get this stuff?"

"Well, the majority of it we have in our potion kits, and I'm sure one of us has something. Remember when I forced you all to buy extra ingredients that we didn't need? Not such a silly idea now is it?"

As usual, she was right.

...

It was the second match of the season, with Slytherin having beaten the Gryffindors in the first match. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were getting pep talks by their Captains.

"Okay!" Scarlet barked as she paced back and forth. "I know we haven't had a lot of practice time but neither have the Hufflepuffs! Stupid Wood and Flint hogged the rest of the pitch time...I'll be putting in a complaint about that."

"This isn't exactly a pep talk," Tommy pointed out.

"Whatever! Get your butts out there and let's win this! That peppy enough for you?"

Everyone rolled their eyes and filed out onto the pitch. Madame Hooch told them to get in their positions and blew the whistle. Charlie shot Harry a grin and flew into the air.

Whenever Harry got nailed by a Bludger Charlie would get a burst of pain. She really hoped Hermione would figure out whatever it is they had. The Seeker kept her eyes out for the Golden Snitch and gasped when a Bludger came whizzing for her head. Clancy swooped in and knocked it aside. "Ha!"

But it came back.

Soon it became apparent that the Bludger had been tampered with, and Clancy and Aurora kept trying to keep it away from her. In the end, Charlie managed to get the Snitch, but also a broken arm.

Then she struck the pitch and everything went black.

...

Charlie's eyes fluttered open and she found herself in the hospital wing. "What happened?" She managed to croak.

Ron, Hermione and Harry were sitting by her bedside. "You hit the pitch and were unconscious." Hermione informed her. "But you won the game!"

"Your broomstick is safe," Harry added. "Scarlet took it back to your Common Room."

"Why was the Bludger following you like that?" Ron asked.

Charlie shrugged; then froze. She could only shrug one shoulder. Glancing down, she shrieked when she discovered her right arm was completely flat and rubbery. "What happened?"

Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "Lockhart tried to cure you, but he kinda screwed up."

"Idiot man," Pomfrey muttered as she approached them. "It's a painful business re-growing bones." She was holding a goblet of foul smelling liquid. "It's Skelegrow and its nasty. Drink it up."

Charlie winced and guzzled it down. It was indeed nasty. It felt like spikes were digging into her skin. Soon her friends bid her goodbye and she fell back asleep, only to wake to something cool being pressed to her head.

"Geez, Dobby! You scared me." Charlie sat up and gently brushed the elf to the side of the bed she had room. "What are you doing here?"

Dobby stared at her with wide green eyes. "Charlotte Potter came back to school! Charlotte Potter should have gone home to safety when miss missed the train!"

"How'd you know-? Ah, Dobby! You didn't!" Charlie groaned and rubbed her forehead. Her right arm hurt something awful.

"Dobby was just trying to keep miss safe!"

Charlie sighed. "I know, Dobby. Out of curiosity, did that rogue Bludger have anything to do with you?"

His guilty expression said it all. "I thought so. Dobby, you're kind of killing me when you're trying to keep me safe."

But the elf looked so pathetic Charlie found she couldn't be mad.

"Dobby just wants miss to be safe! She means so much to the dregs of the wizarding world! Houselves were treated horribly-some still are-but life has improved since you defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

"Dobby, really, I'll be fine. Well, I won't be if you keep trying to save my life."

"But the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again and miss is in danger!" Dobby blurted. He instantly started to smack himself and Charlie quickly halted him.

Charlie found it interesting that the Chamber had been opened before. "Dobby, do you know who opened it before?"

But the Houself could not answer. Charlie sighed. "Dobby, I'm not going home. I'm going to stay here. Alright?"

"Miss must go home! Charlotte Potter is noble and valiant, but even she cannot-"

Footsteps echoed down the corridor and Dobby quickly disappeared. Charlie settled back into bed and closed her eyes just as the door opened, letting in a sliver of candle light into the dark room.

Dumbledore and McGonagall hefted a Petrified person onto one of the spare cots. Madame Pomfrey rushed out and gasped softly. "Another attack?"

"Minerva found him." Dumbledore whispered gravely. "It seems young Colin Creevey was on his way to visit Potter."

Charlie flinched. Poor Colin!

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Pomfrey asked, looking at the poor boy.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened again."

No one knew who did it or how.

**School starts tomorrow :P**


	8. A Possible Bond

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**A Possible Bond**

Charlie sat crossed-legged on the dusty marble floor in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Ron and Harry on either side of her and Hermione stood in a bathroom cubicle with the door open. The bushy-haired girl wanted the first brew to go perfectly and Ron and Harry were not offended when they were asked to play the role of assistant, handing her ingredients when necessary. Charlie could not help, as her arm had just healed and was a bit stiff.

"Colin Creevey is a Muggle-born," Harry mused. "Wow. I guess the Chamber really is open." He shuddered slightly.

"Dobby has to be the Malfoys." Ron said confidently. "I bet you any money Lucius opened the Chamber when he was in school and has ordered Draco to the do the same."

"The possibility of Dobby belonging to the Malfoys is a possibility," Charlie agreed. "But there still is a great chance that the Heir is any other Slytherin that's been through this school. The Malfoys are connected to a whole slew of Slytherins; Dobby could still be getting his information from listening in to private conversations."

"But what I don't get is how the Chamber can be opened twice if there is only one Heir." Harry said in confusion.

"This time the person that opened the Chamber is likely the offspring or relative to the Heir." Hermione theorized. "But we won't find out until the potion is finished."

"I really hope Dobby doesn't try to save my life again." Charlie sighed. "He means well, but I don't think I can take anymore of his help."

Harry grinned. "You were fantastic, by the way. The Bludger struck your arm and knocked off your broom, but you still managed to snag the Snitch before you hit the pitch."

"Add it on to the golden reel." Charlie laughed. "Soon I'll have a collection of best Quidditch moments."

...

While the Polyjuice potion was in its final stages, December approached and they were hit with a ton of snow. They engaged in a snowball fight with the Weasley twins for a while before heading back inside the warm castle.

"Can't we have our library session another day?" Ron whined as he slumped into a squashy library chair. He stared at the glittering snow and the happy children running about.

"Now Ron, when you finish all your homework before the holidays, you can have all the fun you want while everyone else is stuck doing their homework." Hermione promised. "It's a great feeling to have no homework over the Christmas holidays."

Ron, who had been trapped in the library the last three days of the past Christmas break in a rush doing his homework, nodded in resignation. Hermione and Charlie worked on their Herbology essays while Ron and Harry did their Potions. Hermione was determined to help them achieve an E.

Hermione was always the first one to finish her work despite the lengthy papers she wrote. Her homework was tucked into her bag and she then continued to read a book titled _Magical Bonds._

"Have you found anything?" Charlie asked, scribbling out her conclusion.

"Well, I've skipped the sections on Marital Bonds and Paternal Bonds, as they certainly won't be the types we're looking for." She paused and peered at the two of them. "Unless there is something you're not telling me?"

Harry turned brick red and stuttered. Charlie scowled and glared at her. Ron howled with laughter and buried his head in his arms. "We're twelve." Charlie said flatly.

"Oh, I was just joking." Hermione giggled and returned to her reading. Ron calmed down and was staring at the two of them with a cheeky grin.

"I could see it."

"Ron!" Harry and Charlie wailed.

"Er...actually, that'd be kind of weird." Hermione spoke up. "The only bond in here that describes the feelings you two have been having is the Sibling Bond."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Hermione, do we look like we're related?"

Hermione lowered her book and eyed them both. Charlie was pale with bright green eyes and a skinny figure. She was also shorter than she should be. Harry had dark brown eyes, slightly darker skin and freckles and was stockier and much taller. The only common feature was their jet black hair; Charlie's was long and tangled while Harry's was short and neatly kept.

"Well, you both have the same colour hair."

"Not exactly your best argument." Charlie remarked.

"Read this!" Hermione placed the book in front of Charlie, Harry and Ron. The three learned forward and read the passage she indicated.

_The Sibling Bond is a magical bond between two siblings who are very close to each other and have an extremely trusting relationship. A Bond is not something that is conjured but happens naturally. The Bond is formed when something tragic happens to both siblings or if they are apart from each other and misses the other terribly. Another cause of a Bond being formed is becoming best friends, which is normally uncommon. Twins are especially likely to form a Bond as they are together since birth and spend the majority of their time in each other's company. To tell whether or not a Bond has formed are these signs:_

_-Feeling each other's pain  
-Knowing when the other is in danger  
-Communicating with their minds: also known as telepathy  
-Suddenly knowing where your sibling is at any time without explanation_

_To form a Bond is a wonderful thing and should be explored. It's very uncommon for a pair of siblings that are not twins to form a Bond, but still happens occasional. _

"This doesn't make sense." Ron stated as he fell back against his chair. "Harry and Charlie look nothing alike."

"They could be fraternal!" Hermione argued, snapping the book closed.

"My Uncle Remus never told me I had a sister," Harry said. "My parents look nothing like Charlie and she doesn't look like them. I'm certain I would know if I had a twin sister."

"Unless you weren't told for a reason!" Hermione said.

"Why wouldn't they tell us?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps your parents knew Voldemort was going to attack and tried to keep the both of you safe. But something went wrong, Harry was taken away and Charlie was now the Girl-Who-Lived. How did your Uncle Lupin know your father?"

"They were best friends." Harry said with a frown.

"Then your Uncle Remus must have known that it wouldn't be safe if Voldemort knew you were related to Charlie! I don't mean to be insensitive, but Charlie's parents died when Voldemort attacked."

The unspoken question hung in the air; what happened to your parents Harry?

Harry finally answered hesitantly. "They were killed in the First Wizarding War. They went on a mission and didn't make it back."

Hermione shot them all triumphant glances. She was answered with blank looks.

"Hermione, your theory is far-fetched." Charlie pointed out. "How come Harry made it to safety and I didn't? How come our bond is in place now?"

"Well, you haven't grown up with each other and since you weren't aware you had a sibling, it came into action the day we became best friends! The both of you must have known subconsciously how much you loved each other and it formed!"

"I don't believe it." Ron shook his head. "Dumbledore or Remus Lupin would have told them."

"Not if it was for Harry's protection!" Hermione insisted. "And Dumbledore holds back information if he thinks it's appropriate. Look, if you don't believe me, I'll whip up a potion that'll tell us whether or not the two of you are related."

"On top of the Polyjuice potion?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Oh, the Polyjuice potion will be done by Christmas break. The Relations potion doesn't take nearly as long. There's only one problem..."

"And that would be?" Ron pressed.

"The Relations potion calls for Leprechaun's Tears as the base...and none of us have it. Professor Snape on the other hand does."

"So you want us to waltz up and ask him for it?" Harry asked incredulously.

Hermione flushed. "Er, no. I know this isn't a very Ravenclaw thing to do but...we'd have to steal it."

A beat of silence, then Ron spoke. "You've lost it."

...

Hermione was completely serious. So in Potions the following day (Ron wished them good luck and promised to attend their funeral) Charlie stood stiff in nervous with Harry shaking beside her. "She's mental!" Harry whispered.

Charlie sighed. "I hope she won't be too disappointed when she finds out she's wrong."

The dungeon door slammed shut and Snape swept inside in his usual bat-like manner. Charlie was nervous, as the Potions professor had actually started to treat her decently (the snarky comments weren't as malicious) and Charlie knew it would go back to being like her first year if he even suspected it was her.

The lesson began and Charlie could feel her heart thudding. When Snape started to berate Susan Bones Charlie whispered, "Rock Paper Scissors to see who has to throw it in the cauldron."

"You're on." Harry and Charlie participated in a quick round and Charlie groaned when she lost.

"Why are you so good at that game?"

Hermione cleared her throat loudly and gave her a pointed look. She had stayed quiet while the two of them conversed but now was the perfect opportunity. Snape had his back to them. Charlie nervously pulled out a wizard-version of a firecracker and gave it a poke with her wand. It started to fizz and Charlie hastily chucked it in the air. It landed right into Pansy's cauldron.

Bulls-eye.

The potion splattered over both Draco and Pansy. The others managed to duck just in time to avoid the splashing potion. The two started shrieking and screaming and Snape rushed over to the both of them. Hermione slipped and by the time she returned Draco was threatening to sic his father on them all.

Hermione pocketed a glass vial of Leprechaun's Tears and arranged her expression into one of surprise, like everyone else.

The bell had gone by the time the snakes had been treated. Snape glared at them all, trying to find the brat with the guilty look or smug smile. He didn't find one.

His first thought was Potter, but he quickly reminded himself that Potter was not James, and therefore was Sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason. Lupin, on the other hand, may not have been Sorted into Gryffindor, but he still had that Marauder blood in him.

"Whoever did this," he growled to himself. "Will be very, very, _very _sorry."

...

"A Duelling Club?" Charlie repeated what Ron told her. "Well...I suppose it couldn't hurt."

The ginger had run up to them as she, Hermione and Harry was leaving Potions. Hermione told him their plan was a success, and he told them what he had found on the board outside the Great Hall.

"It would be beneficial," Hermione agreed. So, at eight o'clock that evening, they went back to the Great Hall where they found most of the school waiting eagerly.

"You gotta be kidding me," Charlie said flatly as she spotted Lockhart beaming down at them from the gold stage that replaced the long tables. "Is it too late to turn back?"

It was, because the man had spotted her and was waving wildly.

"I think he's one of _your _biggest fans." Ron snickered.

"Hello all!" Professor Lockhart boomed. "I've started this duelling club so you all can learn to protect yourselves just like I can! If you would like further tips, you can see me at the end of this session and I'll write you down for an order of my published Defense collection."

Professor Snape had been standing off to the side, and he let out a snort.

"Ah yes! My assistant Professor Snape here will be partaking in a demonstration. But don't fret; you'll still have your professor when I'm through." He winked at them. Charlie rubbed her forehead.

"He isn't aware he's about to be shown up, is he?" Ron asked.

"You don't know that!" Hermione snapped. "I'm sure he's a very accomplished dueller."

"I wish Professor Flitwick was the one duelling him." Charlie muttered.

Harry chuckled. "Please. I bet Lockhart knew he didn't stand a chance against Flitwick."

The demonstration started and in an instant Lockhart was disarmed and vulnerable. The man quickly made up an excuse and Hermione was falling for it.

"Everyone has a bad day!" She had protested.

Then Lockhart ordered them to pair up. Charlie went with Hermione and Ron went with Harry. The two girls got the hang of the Disarming Spell while the Harry was on the ground, clutching a bleeding nose and glaring warily at Ron and his broken wand.

Everyone else, however, got a little carried away and hexes were flying all over the place. Snape called for order and everyone went silent. Lockhart flushed and rubbed his forehead. "Well then...I suppose I ought to teach you all how to block dangerous spells. Er...Potter and Parkinson! Why don't you come up here to volunteer?"

It wasn't volunteering if you were being asked to do it but Charlie nodded reluctantly while Pansy smirked at her. The two got onto the gold stage. Lockhart tried to explain how to cast a Shield Charm, but he could barely do it himself.

"Go!" He shouted.

Pansy didn't waste a second. _"Serpensortia_!"

Charlie stared wide-eyed at the long black snake that shot out of her wand. "What kind of spell is that?" She complained and backed up slowly as the snake hissed and slithered forward.

"I'll get rid of it for you Potter." Snape drawled and raised his wand. Lockhart, desperate to prove himself after his duelling failure, beat him to it.

Only he succeeded in making the snake angry.

Peeved off, it started to launch towards the nearest student; Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"_Knock it off!" _Charlie cried, waving her arms in the air. The snake froze and slowly turned toward her.

"_Leave the kid alone, alright?"_

The snake hissed and started for Justin again. _"SIT DOWN!" _Charlie yelled.

The snake slumped to the floor, a bit chastened. Charlie smiled in satisfaction. The snake disappeared before her eyes and confused, she looked up.

Everyone was staring at her in shock and horror. Justin looked angry and Snape looked stunned. Someone grabbed her arm and she was yanked off the stage. Ron and Harry were pulling her along with Hermione trailing behind. They shot glares to anyone that dared step forward. They didn't stop until they were alone in the corridor.

"What was that?" Harry exclaimed.

"I was just telling the snake to get lost!" Charlie said. "Why was everyone staring at me? And why did Justin look so mad?"

"Charlie, you were hissing. **You're a Parselmouth. **Why didn't you tell us you could talk to snakes?"

"I only did it once before. I set a snake free on a trip to the zoo. I never knew I was speaking snake language." Charlie was stunned. "I'm guessing it's not a common gift?"

"Nope." Harry said with a sigh. "In fact, Salazar Slytherin was famous for his ability to talk to snakes."

"This is great!" Charlie moaned. "And what about Justin?"

"He thought you were urging the snake to attack him. It's what it sounded like. No one knew you were telling it to leave him alone." Hermione explained.

"This year keeps getting better and better." Charlie sighed.

...

The next day hadn't gone any better. Justin refused to speak to her and everyone else skirted past her in the corridors, eyeing her with fear. In the library she overheard a group of Hufflepuffs whispering that she had to be the Heir. Exasperated, she stormed out and ran into Hagrid. "Hello Hagrid."

"Charlie! How've you bin?" Hagrid asked. His bushy beard was full of snow. Charlie eyed the two dead roosters he clutched in his large hands.

"Er, alright. What's with the dead roosters?"

"Summat's bin gettin' ter them. I'm off ter see Dumbledore for permission to put a protection Charm 'round the hen coop."

Charlie waved him goodbye and started off once more. She encountered Harry halfway down the corridor and he looked dazed and confused. His hair was mussed and he was pale. For the first time Charlie noted how tired he looked. "Are you okay?"

Harry jumped, startled. "Uh, yeah!" The two fell into step beside each other. "But I'm the one who should be asking you that. Are you okay?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't listen to anyone. Even if you are the Heir, you're obviously not doing this on purpose. But we really don't think you are." Harry said.

"For all we know, I could be." Charlie sighed. "I just ran into Hagrid. Apparently something's been killing his roosters."

She missed the spasm of fear that crossed Harry's face. The boy ran a hand down his robes, as if ensuring he didn't have any feathers on him. But as quickly as it came it went. "That is strange."

"Yes it is. Well, I'm off to Charms. I'll see you later."

She did not here Harry mutter to himself, "First the blood, the blackouts, and the feathers! What is going on?"

Charlie shuffled up a set of stairs. "Geez!" A long line of black spiders were scurrying away hurriedly. Concern and panic bubbling in her chest, she removed her wand and inched forwards carefully. Her eyes fell on two figures. Taking a deep breath, she slipped her wand in her pocket and stared at them in despair.

Justin was flat on the ground, rigid and staring up in shock. The other one was Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor Ghost. His pearly white form was a murky black, and he too was staring in shock.

Scratching her chin, Charlie cast a glance around the empty corridor. Then she heard familiar singing and hollered, "PEEVES!"

The poltergeist appeared instantly. "What's Potter calling old Peeves for?" He asked. His beady black eyes fell upon the two figures and he went still.

Charlie gestured towards them. "I stumbled across them like this. Can you whizz down and grab a teacher for me?"

Peeves opened his mouth to respond but before he could someone came rushing down the passage. The poor first year girl took one look and scream shrilly before fainting. Her scream caused frantic teachers to rush towards their location with wands drawn. Curious students followed and soon Charlie was once more caught in an awkward position.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Charlie said quickly.

"I knew it!" Ernie Macmillan cried out. "You got Justin!"

"That's quite enough!" McGonagall cried. Two teachers grabbed hold of Justin while Ernie was in charge of fanning the Gryffindor ghost down with Justin.

Charlie was filled with dread when McGonagall motioned for her to follow. She followed the Deputy Headmistress and sighed.

She knew exactly where she was going.

Dumbledore's office.


	9. A Sibling Discovered

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**A Sibling Discovered**

Charlie was ushered into Dumbledore's office. She nervously sat down in one of the chairs facing his desk and cast a glance around. Strange silver objects sat on many small tables and the walls were covered in portraits from past Headmasters and Headmistresses. Fawkes was currently in the process of Burning Day, which she read up on when she first saw the phoenix.

Phoenixes were very interesting creatures.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips and she caught sight of the old Sorting Hat. Biting her lip, she got up and reached for the shelf where it was perched. She plucked it and set it on her head. _"Problem, Potter?"_

Charlie nodded. "Yeah...I was wondering, did you...?"

"_Did I make the wrong choice when I sorted you? You were very difficult to Sort...but I stand by my decision. You would have made an excellent Slytherin."_

Charlie dropped her head as her stomach plummeted. "I thought so."

"_Yes, you would have excelled as a snake, but also know that I have never made a wrong decision in my Sortings."_

"Thank you." Charlie said as she took the Hat off and set it back on the shelf. It occurred to her that it was rather odd thanking a hat, but nothing in her life could get any weirder.

She could hear the staircase as it twisted upwards, carrying someone to the office. Charlie quickly hurried into the seat and watched as Fawkes burst into a ball of fire before dissolving into ashes. "Incredible..." She breathed.

"Ah, yes. I've been telling him to move on, but he can be rather stubborn. You ought to see him when he's full of red and gold plumage." Dumbledore entered his office and took a seat across from her. "Now Charlotte-"

"She didn't do it!" Hagrid howled as he barrelled into the office. "I was talkin' to her an' she couldn't have attacked them! She wouldn't!"

Dumbledore ordered Hagrid to calm down and assured him he didn't blame Charlie at all. Charlie felt a great sense of relief and relaxed. Hagrid blushed and hurried back out until he could discuss his rooster problems.

"That's two that have argued in your defense." Dumbledore said in amusement.

"Two?" Charlie furrowed her brow. "Who's the other-? No, not Peeves!" Charlie's green eyes widened at the very idea.

Dumbledore chuckled. "It seems Peeves has taken a liking to you, and that doesn't happen often. But I wanted to ask you if anything's troubling you, anything at all?"

Charlie thought about the Polyjuice potion, the Relations potion, the Chamber of Secrets and the fact that she might be the Heir. But she figured nothing was worth worrying her Headmaster, who already had enough on his plate. "No sir. I'm fine."

...

Dumbledore watched in concern as she left his office. He had gently prodded her mind and could sense the confusion and fear she felt. But not wanting to pry, he let her go. Charlie was a bright girl, and he was certain she could figure it out.

...

Christmas came and Charlie and Hermione got up early in the morning to finish up the Polyjuice potion. Hermione filled three flasks (someone would stay behind and begin brewing the Relations potion) and set them on the counter. The two girls then raced back to their Common Room and started opening their Christmas presents.

Charlie got another Weasley sweater and a box of prank products from the Weasley twins. She laughed, finding it amusing that she had gotten those two the exact same thing. Hermione had gotten a new book from her parents and a set of rainbow quills. Charlie got Hermione a pocket book of useful spells and Hermione got Charlie a book on magical creatures. The two girls than picked up the presents they were going to give Harry and Ron and set off for the Great Hall where they would meet.

Charlie spotted Peeves as he whizzed through the corridor, singing rude Christmas carols loudly and causing as much of a ruckus as he could. She pulled a box of Dungbombs and Firecrackers from the top of her pile and hollered out to him.

Peeves zoomed over to them. "What are two little birdies doing up so early?" Peeves questioned as he flipped upside down.

"I just love Christmas," Charlie said airily. "Speaking of which, Merry Christmas!" She thrust the package out to him and Peeves actually gaped at her. It was the first time either of them had seen him speechless.

When Peeves took the package, Charlie grinned. "Consider this a favour repaid. But if anyone asks where you got them, don't mention my name."

Peeves blinked before grinning in delight. "Peevsie is off to wish Filchy a Merry Christmas!"

Hermione clucked her tongue as the poltergeist sped off. "That wasn't a bright idea."

"Well, I owed him a favour. And besides, it's Christmas!"

The girls then heard the faint sounds of a Dungbomb going off and Filch's hollering. "Hmm. Perhaps I'll get Filch something next year."

...

Harry however, woke up that morning not with excitement, but panic.

There were rooster feathers in his bed again.

Clambering out, he shook out his hair and yanked open his bedside table drawer. He pulled out the black diary and stared at it, heart pounding. It had been the coolest thing, having a diary that wrote back. Harry enjoyed writing down their adventures for the day and getting advice and feedback.

But then the blackouts started. He would wake up either in his Common Room or in a deserted corridor with no idea what had happened previously. He thought it was just stress or nerves due to the Chamber of Secrets.

But now he was getting a very bad feeling about it. Eyeing the feathers once more, Harry recalled the first time he awoke covered in blood. It had been just before the Halloween Feast, and he thought he injured himself somehow. So he cleaned up and hurried to meet his friends for the Deathday party.

Then they saw the message written in blood.

Harry did not know if he was doing all of this or not, but he needed to get rid of the diary as soon as possible.

He ran from his Common Room (still in his pyjamas) and hurried for Moaning Myrtles bathroom. He had missed his female friends by five minutes as he flung the door open and chucked it into a random toilet. Ignoring Myrtle's shriek of distress, he took off.

Hopefully that would be the end of that.

...

The four friends quickly exchanged gifts before racing back into the bathroom. Harry was relieved when Myrtle wasn't present. Hermione gestured towards the three flasks and ordered Ron and Harry to go down to the Great Hall and have Crabbe and Goyle eat the Sleeping Draught-laden cupcakes. The latter of the two were more lackeys than Draco's friends and were only seen with the two when they needed backup for harassing someone.

"One of us will have to stay here to brew the Relations potion." Hermione said and removed the vial of Leprechaun's Tears from her book bag along with the potion recipe and other ingredients. Ron offered to stay behind.

"Where did you get Pansy's hair?" Charlie asked, eyeing the black strand warily.

"I plucked it from her head when she started calling me names." Hermione smirked. She dropped the hair into one of the flasks and the two boys left with the chocolate cupcakes. They came back a few minutes later, both clutching strands of hair.

"We locked them in a closet," Ron informed them. "Alright, I'll stay behind and brew the potion while you guys hit Malfoy up for information."

"It's a good thing Pansy went home for Christmas..." Charlie muttered. "Although I thought she would have stayed to see all the Muggle-borns get attacked."

Ron shrugged. "She probably got tired of Malfoy bragging. The Parkinsons aren't that high on the social ladder...rich, but not as many connections as the Malfoys."

The three picked up their flasks of murky liquid and guzzled it down. Hermione gave Ron tips on how to brew the Relations potion and the three now-Slytherins went to see what they could dig up.

...

It was mid-afternoon when the three came bursting into the bathroom. Myrtle had returned and was looking at them all sullenly. "Have you come to throw more books at me?"

"Er...no," Charlie managed to pant. She and the other two were starting to fully change forms. They had barely gotten away when Hermione's bushy hair took the place of Crabbe's slick black locks (she wasn't too happy one being turned into Crabbe) and ran as fast as they could back to safety.

Ron shot them a tired look from the stall where he was brewing the Relations potion. "Apparently someone came in and chucked a diary at her. I don't know what she's talking about."

Harry paled and glanced down. He spotted the black diary underneath a rusted sink (apparently his aim was horrible) but no one had seen it yet. He hoped they didn't.

"Did you see who threw the book at you?" Charlie asked.

Myrtle shook her head. "No...but I'm sure he thought it to be a great laugh." With a wail, she fled the room and shot down the toilet. Hermione shook her head.

"Finished!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione inspected the potion and beamed.

"Excellent, Ron! It's perfect."

"So how did it go?" Ron asked them, wiping his hands on his robes.

Charlie sighed. "Malfoy gloated about your father getting an enquiry at work, he expressed his hope that all 'Mudbloods' would get their due and he has no idea who opened the Chamber. His father wouldn't tell him anything and the Chamber was opened fifty years ago. The person who opened it was expelled and sent to Azkaban."

"Well, that's something." Ron sighed. "I was so sure it would be Malfoy..."

"We'll start on a new theory later." Hermione said briskly. "Now let's see if my theory on the bond is right."

Harry and Charlie groaned. "Come on, Hermione. This is ridiculous!"

Hermione glared and they both sighed before sitting on the floor. Ron carefully brought the cauldron and set it in front of them. "Alright, here's how it goes; you two drop your blood into the potion while I recite the incantation. We don't need to worry about mother/child father/child matches so just watch it see if it turns purple. If it does then you are brother and sister. If not, then it will turn silver."

Ron pulled a small cutting knife from Hermione's book bag (she had come prepared) and the two carefully cut their fingers and let a drop of blood drip into the cauldron before sucking on their fingers.

Hermione recited the incantation and the potion began to swirl and bubble. After a minute, it settled down-and turned a bright purple.

Harry stared, mouth open. Charlie snatched the book from Hermione's hands and read the section on Relations potions in disbelief. But it was true.

She and Harry were twins.

"How?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"I expect Dumbledore and your Uncle have their reasons," Hermione said smugly. "We can discuss this with them if you want."

"We look nothing alike!" Charlie protested.

"Well, maybe they did something to Harry. There is such a thing as Glamours remember?"

"You told us about them a few weeks ago when you read ahead." Ron said with wide eyes. "You can change a person's appearance for a limited time with your wand and a prolonged amount of time with the proper potion."

Harry screwed up his brow and let out a gasp. "I think I know! Every Christmas when I go home Uncle Remus makes a special drink for me! It tastes really good...and I've been drinking it for as long as I can remember."

"Is it only at Christmas?" Hermione asked.

"No...It's also at the beginning of summer and at the end of summer. And I know it's more than just a tradition now because when I wrote to say I wouldn't be coming home, he sent the drink to me! I thought it was just to keep me from missing the traditions too much." Harry ran a hand through his black hair. "Wow. Now I know why he wanted me home for Christmas when I started Hogwarts. He wasn't too happy this year..."

"So Harry takes a Glamour potion at certain times during the year to keep his appearance up," Hermione mused. "What do your parents look like?"

Harry gave a description and then Charlie gave hers. The two sets of parents were complete opposites appearance wise. Hermione grinned. "It seems your Uncle Lupin adjusted a photo of your parents to change their appearances."

"This is crazy," Charlie whispered. "Why did we get separated?"

"You could always ask Dumbledore." Ron suggested.

Charlie bit her lip. She wanted desperately to know the story behind all this. "No. They didn't tell us for a reason and it will stay that way. Harry and I will keep the Bond from them and we'll ask when we think the time is right. For now, let's just enjoy the fact that I now have a brother."

Harry beamed back at her. "And I have a sister! Wow, it feels really weird saying that."

"Nothing can get stranger than this." Ron shook his head.

"Knock on wood!" Charlie hollered.

Everyone laughed. They filed out of the bathroom, and Harry managed to grab the diary and flush it down the toilet without his friends noticing.

He however, didn't notice the diary coming back up.

...

Charlie was walking down the corridor when she noticed the large puddle of water forming. With a sigh, she headed off to Myrtle's bathroom to see if she could calm the ghost down.

It wasn't Myrtle at all. A black diary, soaking wet, seemed to be the cause of the mess.

She carefully pulled the book from the water and flipped through it. Aside from the golden T. M. Riddle stamped on the cover, the pages were empty. Curious, she walked from the bathroom and down a set of stairs. "I suppose this is the book someone chucked at Myrtle."

"Hey Charlie!" Ron called as he hurried towards her. "Do you want to play chess with me?"

"Sure," Charlie agreed. "Do you know who T. M. Riddle is?" She held up the black diary.

Ron arched an eyebrow. "Well, not personally, but I do know he won Special Services to the School fifty years ago."

Charlie followed Ron towards the library where they would play chess. Her mind was working overtime. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened fifty years before (as they discovered from Draco during their Polyjuice run) and Riddle won Special Services for the school fifty years ago.

There was a good chance the guy had something to do with the solving of the Chamber of Secrets.

Charlie got her butt kicked by Ron in chess and then hurried back to her Common Room just before curfew. She tried various spells on the diary, but nothing appeared. Sighing, she stared at the blank pages before lazily scooping up a quill and scribbling her name.

To her surprise, the ink melted into the pages and was replaced by a neater scrawl than hers. _Hello Charlie. My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. How did you come into possession of my diary?_

Charlie scratched her chin. Well, this was certainly one way to get information. _Er, someone tried to flush it down a toilet. _

_I don't blame them. This diary is filled with many horrible things. I suppose recording my memories in something much more permanent than ink wasn't such a great idea._

_What do you mean by horrible things?_

_I was once a student at Hogwarts. The Chamber of Secrets was opened, and many thought it to be nothing more than a legend. Then the attacks started and one poor girl actually died. I found out who opened the Chamber and that person was expelled. Headmaster Dippet ordered me to keep quiet about it and gave me Special Services. But I knew that the Chamber would one day be opened again._

Charlie shook her head. This was almost too good to be true. _Who opened it last time?_

_I can show you._

Charlie blinked, confused. "What on earth does he mean by-?"

Then the pages of the diary started to whirl around her. Stunned, she glanced frantically around the empty Common Room. "Typical!" She tried to get up and escape, but she found herself bound to her chair and the world became a mix of colour. Then her feet hit solid ground and her vision cleared.

She was in Dumbledore's office. But the wizard sitting at the desk was not Dumbledore. It was Headmaster Dippet. Charlie recognized him from the various portraits in Dumbledore's office-the present one.

Charlie slowly walked up to the wizard who had not noticed her rather excellent entrance. She waved a hand over the parchment he was writing on and he didn't twitch. "Well, this is interesting."

The door opened and a tall boy around sixteen entered. His prefect badge glittered on his robes and the boy took a seat in front of Dippet. "Good afternoon, Headmaster. You wanted to see me?"

"Ah, Riddle. I'm aware you asked to stay here for the summer holidays instead of going home." Dippet lowered his quill and looked at the boy.

"With all due respect sir, the orphanage isn't what I call home." Riddle said.

"Yes, the Muggle orphanage. You are a Muggle-born then?" Dippet asked, his memory failing as he tried to recall.

"Half-blood, sir. My mother was a witch and my father a Muggle. My mother lived long enough to name me."

Dippet made a sound of sympathy. "Yes, well, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to stay behind with the current circumstances."

"You mean the attacks?"

"...yes, those. The Ministry of Magic is even thinking of closing the school if we don't put a stop to it."

"What if the person was caught?"

Dippet gave Riddle a sharp look. "Do you know who it is?"

Riddle shook his head quickly. Dippet sighed and dismissed him. Riddle slumped out of the office and down the corridors. Charlie hastily followed. She encountered a younger Dumbledore and by the way he interacted with Riddle he seemed to know something was not quite right. Charlie followed the boy into the dungeons, where he hunkered down in a dark corner and waited with determined eyes.

An hour passed and Charlie groaned loudly. "Can I go now?" She snapped. "Seriously, I'm starving."

The dungeon door swung open and Charlie stumbled backwards in surprise. She watched as a young Hagrid (she knew him immediately by the bushy beard, even as a student he had one) enter and set a box on one of the tables.

"Talk about a time trip," Charlie whispered. Hagrid was struggling with the box, muttering.

"Now, don' struggle. You'll be fed soon enough..."

"Evening, Hagrid." Tom said sharply as he stepped from the shadows.

"Tom? What're yeh-?"

"I'm going to have to turn you in, Hagrid. These attacks have to stop. I know you love your pets and never intend for them to hurt anyone, especially that little girl-"

"It killed no one!" Hagrid snapped, hugging the box close to him. "I don' know what yer talkin' 'bout!"

Hagrid and Riddle got into a quarrel. Riddle finally had enough and whipped out his wand and pointed it at Hagrid. The spell missed and the box toppled off of the table. Charlie shrieked loudly and hopped onto the desk, pulling out her wand and staring with wide eyes.

A hairy body with sharp pinchers, many eyes and black skinny legs scrambled from the confines of the box and rushed for freedom. Riddle tried to stop it but the thing mowed him over and disappeared out the door. Hagrid was sobbing and Riddle was screaming.

Charlie let out a gruntas she found herself sprawled on the floor of her Common Room. Staring at the diary in front of her, she snatched it and shoved it in her robe pocket. The idea that Hagrid had opened the Chamber before was ridiculous. Sure, it explained how he got expelled; but she was certain it was a false accusation. She didn't know what the creature was, but considering Hagrid's love of strange pets, she didn't find it out of the ordinary. And besides, the thing ran over Riddle. It didn't kill him or petrify him.

But the little blast from the past did tell her that Hagrid would know something.

Charlie cast another glance at the diary. "I am _never _doing that again." She muttered before heading to her room and rifled through her trunk for some leftover sweets, careful not to wake her dorm mates.

She really was starving.

...

Charlie had never liked Valentine's Day. When February came she was staring warily at the many dwarfs delivering Valentines to giddy girls and mortified boys and she wasn't too happy. And when Lockhart waltzed through the corridors wearing bright pink robes she turned on her heel and stalked down the opposite direction.

The teachers weren't having fun either. Charlie thought she heard McGonagall hiss to Dumbledore to 'fire the blithering idiot' as they passed her.

Charlie knew Hermione was already in their Defense class, probably eager to give the man her Valentine. Sighing, Charlie started weaving through the pack of students when her bag suddenly split open and her books scattered across the floor. She groaned and stooped down to pick her stuff up.

"Smooth, Potter!" Pansy cackled. Charlie's left eye twitched and she reached for her wand. A stern glare from Percy caused her to scowl but obey.

As if her luck wasn't already bad enough, a dwarf stopped right in front of her. **"I've got a musical message to deliver to **Charlotte **Potter in person." **

Pansy and Draco were already howling with laughter. Harry was further down the corridor, eyeing her with sympathy and amusement. Charlie pressed a hand to her forehead and waved him on, wanting to get it over with.

"_**Her eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,  
Her hair is as dark as a blackboard.  
I wish he was mine, he's really divine,  
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."**_

Charlie was certain she would hex someone if the laughter didn't stop. But she put on a smile, just in case the person who had given her the Valentine was nearby. The last thing she wanted was to hurt someone's feelings, even if the poem was awful.

Pansy was doubled over, shrieking with laughter. Draco bent down and scooped up Charlie's diary. He smirked and waved it in the air. "Did you write Lockhart's name in hearts in every page, Potter?"

"Give it back, Malfoy." Percy ordered.

Draco only sneered. Charlie was not in the mood and used her wand to Summon the diary to her. Harry looked at it in horror, but she didn't catch his expression. Percy scolded her and Charlie apologized before scrambling to get to class. Lockhart stopped her and thrust a box of colourful Valentines in her arms. He excused her from class and gave her a note in case a teacher was to stop her in the corridors.

The man wanted her to hand out his Valentines.

...

"Potter! What are you doing out of class?" McGonagall snapped as the girl appeared in her doorway, frazzled and exasperated.

Silently she thrust out the note Lockhart had given her and hurriedly tossed out the Valentines in the box to the designated student. They were charmed to tell her what class each person was in. She knew Flitwick only assisted Lockhart to get the man to leave him alone.

It's what she would have done.

McGonagall must have finished the note because she was looking at her in stunned disbelief.

"Please," Charlie begged. "Give me a detention or something! Get me a restraining order! Hex the man! Do something!"

McGonagall would have scolded the child if she hadn't had the same strong feelings. She knew Lockhart pestered Potter more than anyone else in the school and she felt sorry for the girl. She was too nice to say no, even if she was probably thinking unpleasant thoughts at the time.

"He's gone too far this time!" McGonagall snapped. She had tolerated Lockhart (barely) for many things, but using a student as his personal assistant was crossing the thin line. "Potter, toss those silly things out and stay here. I'll have a word with him."

Charlotte gave her a look of such delight and relief McGonagall had to smile.


	10. Another Mystery Solved

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Another Mystery Solved**

"Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets last time?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense at all."

"I bet Riddle just wanted to blame someone because he was the one who did it." Ron said hotly.

"Now Ron, that's a bit extreme." Hermione arched an eyebrow.

"Says the girl who correctly predicted the relation between Harry and Charlie." Ron muttered.

Charlie turned to look at Harry, who was staring out the library window silently. "What do you think Harry?"

Harry hadn't spoken a word to any of them since Charlie's unfortunate experience on Valentine's Day. He walked with them and sat with them, but he didn't talk to them. Charlie was starting to get concerned.

"I'm not sure." Harry muttered, playing with his quill and avoiding eye contact.

Charlie sighed and looked at her Transfiguration book. "Well, I suppose we could always ask Hagrid what happened the year he got expelled. Maybe he'll know something."

Hermione checked her watch and informed them class started soon. They held their library session directly after lunch because Charlie had practice after dinner. Charlie, Hermione and Harry trekked on down to Herbology and were relieved to discover that the Mandrakes were almost ready.

"I hope that the mystery of the Chamber is solved soon," Charlie said. "I would hate to have to harvest another batch of Mandrakes because the beast continued attacking."

She did not see Harry flinch.

Dinner came and Charlie stared blankly at her options sheet. Third years were allowed to take additional courses along with their original ones. They could not drop subjects until sixth year. "I don't know what any of this means." Charlie stated flatly to Hermione, who was eagerly checking off all the boxes.

"Just sign up for all of them!" Hermione advised.

"That's physically impossible, and the amount of books I'll have to carry will break my back." Charlie shook her head and glanced around. Her daily dose of vitamins had been consumed and she shoved a piece of garlic bread in her mouth to pacify Pomfrey. She then stood up and wandered over to the Gryffindor table.

"What are you taking?" Ron asked frantically as she leaned over his shoulder. "I've no idea what this stuff means."

"That makes two of us." Charlie scratched her chin. She glanced at Neville out of the corner of her eye. He was rifling through various letters, looking frazzled and confused. "Three of us, actually. Neville isn't having any luck either."

"How about we take Care of Magical Creatures?" Ron suggested. "That's an outdoor course and I think it'd be interesting."

"Alright then," Charlie checked off the CoMC option. "I heard Divination was about looking into the future and discovering people's fortunes and stuff like that."

"Should be easy enough," Ron agreed. They both checked the Divination option. "Right then...we can choose one more."

"I was going to select Ancient Runes..." Charlie indicated her option sheet. "Why don't you take Muggle Studies? I think Harry's taking that course as well."

"It would be useful." Ron thought for a moment before nodding. He checked off his third option with flourish. "That wasn't so bad. We were just over-thinking it too much."

"If you two are done," Neville said, throwing a bunch of letters aside. "Can you help me?"

...

The next morning had Charlie and Harry slamming into each other in the corridor. Charlie's bag split open and Harry hastily helped her gather her supplies before taking off.

Charlie frowned at his sudden departure but decided to ponder later. Now she had to run or else McGonagall might tell Lockhart to start pestering her again.

...

Harry clutched the diary to his chest, relieved beyond belief. Charlie didn't seem to notice him plucking it off the floor and taking it with him. Ever since spotting the diary in her possession on Valentine's Day, he had worried the diary would tell her something...and had been trying to plot a way to steal it back since.

Maybe if he just kept the diary and didn't use it, nothing would happen.

...

"_**Kill this time...let me rip...tear..."**_

Charlie jumped and whirled around. The raspy voice was back and it unnerved her more than ever. Hermione paused on the steps, eyeing her in concern.

"I'm hearing it again!" Charlie moaned and rubbed her forehead. "This is getting old fast."

"Why is it you can hear the voice and no one else can?" Hermione asked aloud, brow furrowing. Then her brown eyes shot open in shock. "Wait a minute!"

"You have an idea?" Charlie questioned.

"Yes!" Hermione was bouncing on her toes in excitement. "What if the reason you can hear the voice is because the beast is some sort of snake?"

Charlie gaped. "That makes sense! If I'm a Parselmouth, then only I would be able to hear the voice!"

"But how is this thing getting around without us noticing it?" Hermione whispered.

"We have time to pop into the library and grab a book." Charlie suggested. Excitement was bubbling inside her chest-they were so close to solving the mystery!

The two were about to start off when she heard Lockhart call her name from down the corridor. Sighing, Charlie waved Hermione on and jogged towards her Defense teacher.

She knew being left alone was too good to be true.

...

"A snake?" Ron repeated as he walked Charlie to the Quidditch pitch. "Well, that would explain a lot. Are you sure the thing Hagrid had in the box all those years ago wasn't a snake?"

"It definitely didn't look like any snake I'd ever seen." Charlie remarked. "Hermione's gone off to the library to find out more. Where's Harry?"

Ron shrugged. "In his Common Room, I suppose. I haven't seen him since this morning."

The two then halted when they came across the pitch. Students were making their way back to the school-including the Quidditch players.

"What's going on?" Ron asked his brother Fred as they passed by.

"There's been a double attack." Fred said solemnly. "The Quidditch match _and _the Cup have been cancelled. Wood's in a right state."

Ezra then came by, dragging a howling Wood behind her. "Knock it off! We would have kicked your butts in the Cup anyway if we'd beaten Slytherin-which we would have."

Charlie and Ron were about to start off when McGonagall found them. She motioned for the two to follow her and with growing dread they did.

"Please don't be who I think it is." Charlie begged.

But when they entered the infirmary they could see Hermione's shocked, Petrified face. Ron moaned and Charlie wiped away her tears. Across the room, resting on another bed was Pansy Parkinson.

"I bet Pansy cornered Hermione in the library and tried to get a rise out of her." Ron scowled. "Serves her right."

Charlie bit her lip. She wouldn't wish Petrifaction on her worst enemy.

"Would you like to hold this until Hermione is well again?" Pomfrey asked, holding out a cosmetic mirror. Charlie recognized the snake engravings around the lip of the mirror and frowned in confusion. But she took it none the less.

Draco cornered her and Ron as they made their way silently back to their respective Common Rooms. He tried to hex Charlie (He was convinced the Ravenclaw was the Heir and had Petrified Pansy) but was caught by Snape. Instead of blaming it on Charlie or even Ron, he ordered them all back to their Common Rooms immediately.

"I think the entire school is going bonkers!" Ron exclaimed.

"We'll worry about Snape's strange niceness later. Right now we need to figure out the next step in rescuing Hermione and the others students."

"What do you mean?"

"Fifty years ago, when the Chamber was opened, a student was killed. I'm certain the snake will not rest until it's either Petrified every Muggle-born in this school or until it kills someone." Charlie pushed up her sleeves with a determined look in her green eyes. "Hermione gave me a book on magical creatures for Christmas. We're going to do some research."

"We?" Ron echoed.

"Everyone will be too worried to notice you sneak into the Common Room. McGonagall might panic, but it's for the good of the school. We'll leave Harry alone...I've been getting pangs of fear from him but since he's not telling us anything, I won't pry. I figure he's just worried about the whole Chamber business."

"Do you think he knows about Hermione?" Ron asked as he followed Charlie towards her Common Room.

"Someone ought to have told him by now."

...

And someone had. Harry was alone in his dorm, as everyone else was downstairs and chatting or worrying. Hermione was Petrified and Harry was horrified that it might be his fault. He had had a blackout just before and decided to stay in the Common Room for the rest of the day.

He was afraid to tell someone. He didn't want to get expelled. Uncle Remus would be so disappointed.

Harry didn't know what to do.

...

"I think I've been a bad influence," Ron commented as Charlie let him into the Ravenclaw Common Room. They slipped past the panicked students and Charlie was right; they were too caught up in the fact that a Slytherin had been attacked to notice him.

Ron settled on Charlie's bed and the girl took out the book Hermione gave her for Christmas. "We're looking for something snake-like..." Charlie muttered as she flipped through the glossy pages.

"There it is!" Ron cried suddenly. "The Basilisk!"

The two hungrily read the passage underneath a menacing looking picture of a snake.

_**"**__**Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.**__**" **_

"It all makes sense!" Charlie whispered. "Hagrid's roosters were being killed and the spiders were always around where there was an attack-always fleeing in the opposite direction."

"Mrs. Norris was Petrified because she saw the snake in the puddle of water," Ron ticked the attacks off his fingers, eyes narrowed in concentration. "Colin must have seen the Basilisk through the lens of his camera. Justin probably saw the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick and since Nick is already a ghost he couldn't be killed! And Hermione must have convinced Pansy to hand over her mirror and when she was telling Pansy to use the mirror to look around corners, the snake was behind them!"

"Brilliant!" Charlie gasped. "But how is the Basilisk getting around?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't know."

Charlie bit her lip. "Maybe Hagrid has an idea..."

Ron grinned when Charlie removed her Invisibility Cloak from her trunk. "I've definitely been a bad influence on you."

...

The visit to Hagrid had not gone as planned. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, came a-knocking along with Dumbledore. Hagrid denied having anything to do with the Chamber of Secrets but desperate to do something, Cornelius informed the gentle giant he would be sent to Azkaban until someone was worked out. Ron started forward but Charlie kept him in the corner where they were hiding under the Cloak.

Dumbledore supported Hagrid and expressed his displeasure with the situation. Fudge was adamant.

Then Lucius Malfoy walked in. Charlie wanted to rush up and deck the man herself. She had been wondering when he would show up. Draco kept bragging he had a lot of pull with the Ministry and many others. It didn't surprise her that he managed to convince the board of school governors to suspend Dumbledore due to the belief that Dumbledore was 'losing his touch.'

Ron and Charlie looked at each other in horror.

Hagrid was outraged and Fudge was not too keen on the idea of temporarily sacking the only possible wizard that could put a stop to the attacks. But Lucius was gleeful.

Ron snarled. But he immediately paled when Dumbledore turned and seemed to look straight at them with serious blue eyes. "I will go. But **you will find that I will only **_**truly **_**have left the school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."**

Hagrid and Dumbledore were ushered out. Ron whipped the Cloak off of them and groaned. "This was a bust! Hagrid didn't know anything and Dumbledore is gone! I really want to pound Lucius one..."

Fang was howling in despair. Charlie rubbed his head to calm him down. "Well...to be honest, I don't really feel comfortable talking to the other teachers about our discovery."

"Especially after the whole Stone issue," Ron agreed. "No one believed us."

"They might believe us this time, but I don't think they have the power to take on a Basilisk like Dumbledore and I don't want them getting killed." Charlie pursed her lips. "Looks like ought to follow Hagrid's hint and follow the spiders."

"But why?" Ron complained.

"I don't know why! That's why we have to follow the spiders! To find out why!" Charlie flung her hands in the air. "Now let's get back to the school before we get thrown into detention."

...

Unfortunately for them, they got caught as they were entering the castle. McGonagall took away a hunk of points and escorted them to their Common Rooms.

Malfoy was subdued after the Petrifaction of his best friend. No Slytherins were as cocky as they were before and it was rather odd behaviour to get used to.

Harry was still distant and no matter how many times Charlie asked him what was wrong he wouldn't tell her. When she asked if he wanted to accompany her on their little search for spiders, he refused.

She did not know that he was trying to keep her and Ron safe.

...

"So the secret is out..." Ron said in awe as he and Charlie prowled the castle corridors for spiders. "Pansy is a Half-Blood."

The revelation had come to them in the form of the Daily Prophet. Someone in the Parkinsons family had let it slip that Pansy's mother had a scandalous affair with a Muggle and Pansy's father always believed that Pansy was pureblood and his own flesh and blood. Only Pansy's aunts knew this secret and one of them had a slip of the tongue.

"To be raised in a pureblood family and do something like this is unacceptable to those of Slytherin house descent." Ron explained when they found this out. "It now makes sense why the Basilisk would attack Pansy when everyone thought she was a pureblood."

"There's never a spider when you need one." Charlie let out a sigh as she scanned the empty corridor.

"Does that mean we can stop searching?" Ron asked hopefully.

Just when she was about to agree with him, she noticed a clump of spiders skittering for the window. Grinning, she gestured towards them. "I think we have enough time before afternoon class starts."

Shuddering, Ron reluctantly followed her out the window and they followed the spiders as they scuttled deep within the Forest. "This isn't fun," Ron muttered as he pulled out his wand. _"Lumos." _He whispered.

A bright blue light shone from the tip of his wand and lit up the ground in front of them. The spiders jerked at the bright light and moved faster. "Where do you think they're going?" Charlie questioned.

Before Ron could answer, a swarm of giant black spiders descended upon them from the shadows. Ron let out a scream and tried to run, but it was no use. The giant spiders took hold of Charlie and Ron and dragged them across the forest floor before depositing them in front of an even bigger black spider.

"Who is it?" The spider spoke, clicking its pinchers with every word.

Ron was pale faced and trembling horribly. Charlie patted him on the back and kept her wand up. "Intruders," one of the smaller spiders (even though the small ones were still a head taller than Charlie) answered.

"Kill them." The answer was brisk and curt.

"Wait!" Charlie cried. "We were following Hagrid's directions. He told us to follow the spiders as he was being taken away and-"

"Hagrid? Taken away?" The spider clicked furiously. "Whatever for?"

Ron was now slumped against Charlie's shoulder and she tried to support him. "The Ministry thinks he's the one responsible for the Chamber being opened again."

"Hagrid was never the cause of those attacks to begin with!" The clicks were furious now.

"I know!" Charlie said quickly. "Hagrid's a friend of ours. We just want to know if you know where the Chamber is."

"I was born in a distant land where a traveller brought me here. Hagrid bought me when I was just an egg and took care of me during his stay at Hogwarts and named me Aragog. I had never seen the outside of my cupboard until the day Hagrid was accused of setting the beast free. I escaped into the forest and Hagrid continues to visit me. I have never attacked anyone. Not even the girl that died in the bathroom."

"I know." Charlie said. "Well...I'm very sorry to interrupt you. We'll be going."

"I'm afraid not. My family does not harm Hagrid on my orders. But I cannot deny them fresh meat when it comes willing to us. Goodbye, young friends of Hagrid."

The giant spider moved backwards into the shadows while his children moved in, pinchers clicking rapidly. Charlie clung on to Ron, knowing it was useless to start firing spells.

Then a miracle happened.

There was a great roaring sound and a blue blur shot beside them, horn honking loudly and the doors flying open. Charlie stared in stunned disbelief at the dented, dirty Ford Anglia before shoving Ron inside and jumping in. The doors slammed shut and the spiders started to crawl over the hood and onto the roof, shrieking madly. Ron was torn between fear and relief upon seeing the car well.

The car tore forwards and spiders were flung off. Charlie and Ron hung on to each other as the car twisted and turned throughout the forest before stopping just by Hagrid's hut. Shakily, Ron clambered out and fell to the ground. Charlie gave the car a pat on the hood and thanked it. The car tooted and roared back into its new home-the forest.

"You alright?" Charlie asked Ron.

The ginger climbed to his feet and didn't say anything.

"That wasn't too bad for an afternoon." Charlie remarked as they marched back up to the castle. "A bit late for class maybe..."

Ron shot her a horrified glance. "How on earth was this a good afternoon? We learned absolutely nothing!"

"Sure we did. The girl who died was found in the bathroom. I'll give one guess as to the Hogwarts ghost that lives in a bathroom."

Ron gaped. "No way! Moaning Myrtle was the girl who was killed by the Basilisk?"

"It seems so. Perhaps she knows where the Chamber is."

Then terrible fear shot through her gut and she crumbled to the ground. A quick vision shot flashed before her eyes and she panted heavily, sweating. Ron was crouched down beside her shouting in concern.

"What's wrong?" He cried. "Is it your scar or is it Harry?"

"I think I finally know why Harry's behaviour was off." She said shakily as she got to her feet. "And now I know who took the diary back. Ron...Harry was taken into the Chamber. And unfortunately...Ginny was with him when he was taken."

"Ginny's in the Chamber?" Ron asked in a hushed, horrified voice.

"Along with Harry. And...I have no idea how to get inside the Chamber to rescue them."

**There are probably a few mistakes and inconsistencies here and there, but it's late and I figured you were all eager for this chapter. I'll read it over tomorrow and fix any severe mistakes.**


	11. Delving into the Depths

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Delving into the Depths**

The castle was deserted. The students were in their Common Rooms and the teachers were who-knows-where. Ron and Charlie crept silently down the marble floors, knowing to be caught by a teacher would mean severe punishment.

"_WOULD ALL STAFF PLEASE REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL FOR AN IMPORTANT MEETING."_

McGonagall's booming voice caused Ron to jump in fear. Charlie steadied him. "It's only a projection of her voice so everyone in the castle hears it." She explained. "I guess the teachers are as lost as we are."

"Should we eavesdrop on them?" Ron asked.

"We can't really afford to waste time..." Charlie said slowly. "But perhaps they do know more than they let on."

The two students managed to sneak into the Hall before the rest of the panicked teachers. Charlie cast a Disillusionment Charm on the two of them and they stood still by the door, in case they needed to make a quick escape.

All the teachers (including one Charlie had never seen before) took their places at the High Table. Most were pale and concerned, some anxious and tense.

"Why have you ordered all the students to stay in their Common Rooms?" Madame Hooch asked. Her facial expression said she already knew the answer but wanted desperately to be proven wrong.

"Two students have been taken into the Chamber," McGonagall said heavily. "The Heir left their message right underneath the first one; _their skeletons __**will lie in the Chamber forever.**__"_

Snape's knuckles turned white. "Which students were taken?"

"Harry Lupin and Ginny Weasley," Sprout said thickly. "They've only been taken five minutes ago...I thought it would be safe to let everyone out of their dorms."

"As did all of us," McGonagall said. She then ran a hand over her forehead and whispered, "To add on to this mess, no student has seen Ronald Weasley or Charlotte Potter since afternoon classes."

"They didn't!" Flitwick exclaimed in horror. "Please tell me they didn't go looking for the Chamber!"

"The Heads of House are going to inform their students that they will be leaving on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. The others will sweep the school and stop Potter and Weasley before they get themselves killed. I've owled Dumbledore. I wish I didn't have to say this, but the school really is closing."

"It's for the safety of the students." Flitwick said with a shaky voice. "I do wish Dumbledore had stayed...I'm off to inform my Eagles about the situation and then I'm going to help search for Potter and Weasley. I hope they're alright."

The doors banged open and Ron clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his startled gasp. Lockhart strode into the Hall, golden robes billowing.

"So sorry, I was just shooing a few more students back to their Common Rooms. Poor things are terribly frightened but I made sure to let them know I had things handled."

"Ah yes, wasn't it yesterday you were telling us how you knew where the Chamber was?" McGonagall asked. Her face was neutral but her eyes were anything but.

Lockhart paused. "Er...yes, I do, but-"

"Then you can get a start on going into the Chamber to rescue those two students that were taken. The rest of us will stay up here and protect the students and make sure none try something stupid."

"Yes Lockhart," Snape's voice was silky and dangerous. "You've kept saying you wish you had an opportunity to tangle with the beast. Here's your chance. We'll keep everyone out of your way."

Lockhart could not refuse without giving himself up as a fraud. So he nodded and hastily exited the room.

"Now that the idiot's out of the way," Snape growled. "Let's get a move on."

The teachers filed out of the room and Charlie cancelled the Charm. "Lockhart really needs to start playing down his image." Ron mused. "Bragging about knowing where the Chamber is? Surely he knew someone would call his bluff sooner or later."

"His image is important to him and he's going to keep it up no matter what." Charlie shrugged. "Before we do anything, we need to know how the Basilisk has been getting around."

Ron scrunched up his brow. "If Moaning Myrtle died in the bathroom...and the Basilisk has been getting around the school without anyone noticing and you've been hearing the voice within the walls that means..."

Charlie's green eyes widened. "That the snake has been getting around using the pipes! The pipes are in the walls and are connected to everything!"

"Especially the bathrooms!" Ron gasped. "Do you think the entrance to the Chamber is in one of the bathrooms?"

"I would say so. And I would guess the bathroom would be Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It seems to be the only logical choice at the moment."

"Should we tell Lockhart?" Ron asked as they hurried from the Hall. "If the man is going to try and prove the teachers wrong, we might as well tell him what he's up against."

Charlie agreed and they ran towards Lockhart's office. Ron rapped on the door and it flung open to reveal a frazzled Lockhart. "Hello children! Why aren't you in your dormitories?"

Charlie crossed her arms. "We figured you were getting ready to take on the Basilisk, so we wanted to come and give you some hints."

"Basilisk?" Lockhart rasped. "Oh! Well...actually, I've just been called away on urgent business and-"

Ron pushed the door open wider to reveal dozens of trunks stacked around the spacious office. "You didn't get called away on urgent business!" Ron accused. "You're just a fraud who knows nothing about the Chamber and has been blowing hot air!"

"Alright!" Lockhart cried. "I don't know anything about the Chamber. But what am I supposed to do?"

"We have an idea where the Chamber is." Charlie informed him. "You can come and assist us."

"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know how to do any of the things I wrote about. I wouldn't be much help."

"You did none of the things you wrote about?" Ron cried.

"Of course not! But no one would read my books if they weren't as interesting as they are now. Besides, if the old warlock that actually did write his own book on saving a village from werewolves he wouldn't sell half as many as I did. It's all about appearance you see. And I did do a lot of work in writing these things. I had to track the people down, get their full story and erase their memories."

"You're not running out on us." Charlie snapped. "You tell tall tales; you go through with them."

Lockhart removed his wand. "I'm afraid that doesn't work for me. If there is one thing I am good at, it's those Memory Charms."

"_Expelliarmus!" _Charlie cried. Lockhart's wand sailed into her hand and she shoved it up the sleeve of her robe. "Right then. You either come with us or we tell everyone your secrets. I'd really rather not do the last one."

White-faced, Lockhart followed her and Ron to Myrtle's bathroom.

"Hello Myrtle." Charlie greeted. The ghost was in her usual stall.

"What do you want?" Myrtle asked moodily.

"I hope you don't consider this a personal question, but I would like to know how you died."

Instead of taking offense, Myrtle was delighted to tell them how she passed. "It was horrible! Olivia Hornby was teasing me again and I rushed into this very stall. I cried buckets and only stopped when I heard someone come in. The person that spoke had a boyish voice, but I didn't have a clue as to what he was saying. I opened the stall door to tell him to get out and I found myself looking into a pair of menacing yellow eyes. Then I just seized up and died."

Charlie nodded. Myrtle was the girl that had gotten killed by the Basilisk after all. "Where did you see them?"

"The eyes? Over there by that sink." Myrtle pointed to the sink directly across from her stall.

Ron and Charlie examined every inch of it. Lockhart looked ready to bolt but a threatening glare from Ron kept him where was.

"Look at this!" Charlie whispered. Around the copper tap were engravings of a serpent. Ron tried to twist it but it wouldn't budge.

"Try saying something in Parsel-tongue." Ron suggested.

Charlie took a deep breath and whispered, _"Open."_

A strangled hissing sound came deep from her throat and the two students watched in amazement as the sink pulled back and revealed a pipe wide enough for a man to fit through. Charlie cracked her knuckles. "I think we found it."

"You get the honours." Ron barked at Lockhart. The blonde gulped and slumped forward.

"Really, what help am I going to be?"

"Bait."

"Ron!" Charlie rebuked. She had a strong feeling that Lockhart had been a fraud the entire time and hadn't been surprised to discover that he stole the tales from other people. But strangely enough, she didn't resent the man. She definitely didn't want him killed.

She had weird feelings about Lockhart-and none of them fit into the category of school girl infatuation.

...

"That is disgusting." Charlie said flatly. They had been walking down the dark stone tunnel for what seemed like forever when they came upon a vivid, poisonous green snake skin that was huge. Charlie ran a hand through her raven hair.

"So...I have to fight that thing?"

"Good luck," Ron muttered. He let out a yelp as he was tackled to the slimy floor by Lockhart. The man grabbed Ron's broken wand and fired off a Memory Charm. Charlie quickly cast a Shield Charm (the duelling lessons actually paid off) and the spell rebounded and slammed into the ceiling. Rocks crumbled down around them and the two students scrambled out of the way.

Ron and Charlie wiped the dust from their eyes and stared at the wall of broken rocks that separated them from Lockhart.

"Professor?" Charlie called, a bit panicked. "Professor, are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." A weak voice called out. "But I think my leg is broken."

"Serves him right..." Ron muttered. But he was relieved that the man hadn't been killed despite what he tried to do to the both of them.

"Just stay there and we'll come back for you." Charlie promised. "Try to keep your leg elevated if you can."

Ron turned and stared at the large stone wall with the intertwining snakes. It seemed to be their next passage. "Think this will take us inside the Chamber?"

Charlie shrugged. "One way to find out. _Open._"

The snakes curled apart and the wall slowly slid open with a rumbling noise. Charlie gripped Ron's hand and took a deep breath.

"For Harry Lupin and Ginny Weasley. Let's kick some serpent butt."


	12. A Winning Streak

**Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are in bold. This is an AU. Reviews are appreciates, flames are not.**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**A Winning Streak**

They entered a long dimly lit chamber. There were towering stone pillars decorated with more carved serpents and the room was filled with an odd greenish gloom. The two students walked to the very end of the Chamber and came across a large statue of what appeared to be Salazar Slytherin himself. Ron gasped when he spotted his sister out cold on the floor by the statues feet.

"Not the most attractive man, was he?" Charlie muttered. She stooped down by Harry and gently shook his shoulder. He stayed still. His face was white as a chalk but he was still breathing. "I think they're fine. We'll carry them back up into the castle and when Dumbledore gets here he can-"

"They won't wake up." A soft said. Ron and Charlie whipped out their wands and turned around to face the newcomer.

It was Tom Riddle.

"This can't be happening," Charlie said in disbelief. "You haven't aged one bit! And it's been fifty years!"

Ron looked lost. "Who is this bloke?"

"This is Tom Riddle. He's the student that won the Special Services award, remember?"

Ron gaped. "But how are you still so young?"

"I'm nothing more than a memory." Riddle explained. He gestured towards the diary that had been discarded a few feet away. "Preserved in this diary for fifty years."

"Can you help us then?" Ron asked, gently hefting his sister into his arms. "The Basilisk will be here any moment and-"

"The Basilisk will only come when called."

Ron furrowed his brow. "Well...who calls it?"

Charlie widened her green eyes in realization. Her gaze flickered to the diary and then to Tom. "You were a Slytherin, weren't you?"

Tom smiled. But it was a wicked smile. "You caught on faster than I expected. _Expelliarmus!_"

Charlie's wand, Ron's wand and Lockhart's wand shot into Riddle's hand. "This is quite a collection I've acquired. Five wands in one night...I wonder what I will do with them."

"Please don't tell me he's the actual Heir of Slytherin." Ron begged Charlie.

"I'm starting to think so." Charlie narrowed her eyes. "You've been making Harry do all your dirty work, haven't you?"

"It's a rather fun story (for me anyways). Harry came into possession of my diary at the beginning of the school year and spent months writing to me. He told me about your little adventures and his insecurities. He felt that he wasn't as cool as Ron or as smart as Hermione or as well-liked as Charlotte. I fed off his insecurities and grew powerful by them. When I was powerful enough, I possessed Harry."

"You what?" Ron hollered in outrage.

"Yes, I made him open the Chamber of Secrets. I made him kill those roosters and write the message on the wall. I made him sic the Basilisk on his little friends. He caught on after a while and tried to get rid of it. Then you found it, Charlie. You were the person I was anxious to meet. I was hoping to gain your trust after showing you what happened to Hagrid...but you were too smart for that."

"I knew Hagrid would never do such a thing." Charlie snapped. "It's now clear that you framed him."

"I'm surprised how many people believed me. But not Dumbledore... He always seemed to know when I pulling the wool over other teachers eyes. He kept a close eye on me after that and I knew I couldn't open the Chamber again while I was in school. So I preserved my sixteen-year old self in these pages so that one day I would be able to lead another one in the footsteps of Salazar Slytherin."

"Well, your work hasn't been finished." Ron snapped, hugging Ginny protectively to him. "No one's been killed."

"See, that's where you're wrong. I never intended to have another Mudblood killed. My target for many months has been Charlotte Potter. I was so angry when Harry stole the diary back. He was afraid you'd know all of his secrets and what he might have been doing. I then realized that you were too close to solving the mystery of the Chamber and had to lure you down here. Good thing Harry is one of your best friends."

"How does my sister fit into all this?" Ron asked.

"Your sister was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. She came across Harry writing his own message on the wall and I had to bring her down here as well. Miss Potter, I have a question for you."

Charlie motioned for Ron to carry Ginny off to the side. They couldn't make an escape with two unconscious bodies while Riddle had five wands. She propped Harry up against the statue and asked, "What is it?"

"How did you manage to escape Lord Voldemort when you were just and infant? How did you manage to destroy his powers and get off with just a scar?"

Charlie had a terrible feeling rise in her gut. "I honestly don't have a clue."

"Wait. You-Know-Who was before your time." Ron had placed Ginny against the wall and came back over to them.

A cruel smile crossed his face and he gave Charlie's wand a flick. Sparkling letters appeared in the air.

**TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE**

He waved Charlie's wand once more and the letters started to rearrange themselves.

**I AM LORD VOLDEMORT**

Ron let out a squeak of fear. Charlie gritted her teeth. She really should have seen this coming.

"You see? Only my most intimate friends knew this name I had created for myself. Did you think I would use my filthy father's name? Did you think I would accept my ugly Muggle side and ignore the rich Slytherin blood that runs on my mother's side? I gave myself a name I knew all wizards would fear one day; the name of the greatest wizard in the world!"

"You're not!"

Charlie was surprised to hear Ron shout with such feeling. He was glaring angrily at Riddle, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

"What?" Riddle asked in a deadly whisper.

"You're not the greatest sorcerer in the world!" Ron hissed. "Albus Dumbledore is!"

"Yeah!" Charlie agreed. "When you were strong you didn't even attempt to take Hogwarts, did you? You knew you were no match for him."

"And you're still frightened of him, wherever you might be hiding!" Ron added.

"**Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere **_**memory **_**of me!"** Riddle snapped.

"**He's not as gone as you might think!" **Charlie and Ron shouted.

Before Riddle could answer, a musical trilling came far down the empty chamber. The music was growing louder and Charlie could feel Ron shiver beside her. A crimson bird flew into the Chamber, the music swelling for a moment before disappearing completely. The magnificent bird landed on Charlie's shoulder and the Sorting hat he had been carrying was dropped by Ron's feet.

"Fawkes?" Ron whispered in awe.

Fawkes trilled softly.

Riddle let out a barking laugh. "So this is what the great wizard sends you? A phoenix and an old hat? Do you feel safe Charlotte Potter?"

Charlie said nothing. Ron reached out and gripped her hand tightly.

Riddle sneered. "Harry's life is dwindling by the second. He grows weaker and I grow stronger. I'd advise you to tell me how you managed to escape me twice. **The longer you talk, the longer you stay alive**."

Charlie figured that with five wands she and Ron were at a severe disadvantage. But Dumbledore sent Fawkes and the Hat for a reason. She would trust him. "My Muggle-born mother died to save me." Charlie said coldly. "I don't know why you lost your powers that night. But I do you know you can't kill me because my mother died to save me. And I'm here, real and alive, while you're attacking me as nothing more than a memory of yourself."

Riddle snarled. "So there's nothing special about you at all. That's all I wanted to know. Because in case you haven't noticed, there are some likenesses between the two of us. Both orphans raised by Muggles. We're both half-bloods and both the only Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts. We even _look _alike."

Charlie flinched.

"But it was pure luck that kept you alive. Now, I'm going to see whether the powers of Lord Voldemort or the famous Charlotte Potter will prevail in a match."

Riddle walked over to the statue of Salazar Slytherin. He whispered in Parseltongue and the mouth started to open widely. Charlie could hear something stirring from the depths. Ron clutched onto her arm.

Fawkes took flight and Charlie didn't blame him one bit.

"Close your eyes!" Charlie snapped at Ron. The two squeezed their eyes shut and listened intently.

The Basilisk hit the stone floor with a _thunk_. It started to uncurl itself and the two could hear starting to slither towards them.

"Do you see?" Riddle asked silkily. "The price you pay for being a friend of Potter?"

Ron ignored Riddle. He and Charlie ran blindly around the room, making sure not to lose the other. Charlie tripped and brought Ron down with her. Charlie cursed under her breath and wiped a stream of blood from her lip. The Basilisk was a few feet behind them.

Then there was the sound of someone thrashing. Squinting, Charlie could make out Fawkes distracting the giant serpent. Riddle was hollering at the Basilisk to kill the children and leave the bird.

Ron seemed to want to know what was happening as well. He peered at Fawkes and jumped slightly when a shower of snake blood hit him when Fawkes snipped at the Basilisk. "This is so gross!"

"Well," Charlie remarked as she glanced into the Basilisk's ruined yellow eyes. "We can keep our eyes opened now."

"Brilliantly done Fawkes!" Ron praised the phoenix. The blinded Basilisk swung its tail and Ron ducked. But Charlie got struck and sailed across the stone floor. Ron hollered out to her, but she only moaned in response. Spotting the Sorting Hat, Ron leapt for it and jammed it on his head.

He flattened himself to the floor as the snake's tail swung around wildly. _Please help us! Please!_

The Hat contracted and then something heavy fell onto his head. Grunting, Ron removed the Hat and pulled out a long, gleaming sword with glittering rubies on the handle. "Oh! Well, thank you!"

"_Kill the blood traitor! Kill the girl! KILL THEM!"_

Charlie moaned and pushed herself up. Her head throbbed. Getting to her feet she cast a quick look at Harry and Ginny. They were still out cold, but the Basilisk wasn't paying any attention to them.

The Basilisk was paying attention to Ron.

Charlie stared as the ginger managed to slice off the snake's tongue as it tried to bit him. "Where'd you get that sword?"

"The Hat!" Ron hollered back and ducked another lunge from the snake. The Basilisk was getting very angry now. He looked around with ruined eyes and caught scent of Charlie. The Basilisk rushed towards her and Ron chucked the sword at her. Charlie caught it and hit the stone floor as the snake tried to bite her.

Charlie found herself cornered against the wall. The Basilisk lunged again and Charlie thrust the sword up. It sank deep into the roof of the serpent's mouth. Blood drenched her hands but Charlie winced when she felt a fang sink deep into her arm before it snapped from the Basilisk's mouth.

The Basilisk keeled over and started twitching. Charlie yanked the fang from her arm and Ron raced towards her.

"Charlie!" He cried. "Charlie, no!"

"Get out of here." Charlie said weakly. The chamber was starting to dissolve. "Take the sword and Fawkes will bring you, Harry and Ginny to safety."

"I'm not leaving you." Ron said thickly. Tears burned his throat as he crouched down and gripped Charlie's hand tightly.

"You're dead, Potter." Riddle said softly. "The poison ought to take care of you any second. I'll let your friend live long enough to see you die, and then I'll let him watch as I kill his sister and best friend. Perhaps I'll let him go...I need someone to spread the victory I have achieved over Charlotte Potter."

Fawkes landed on Charlie's shoulder. She could feel a liquid trickling down and landing on the wound in her arm. Charlie chuckled softly. She had forgotten-a phoenix's tears had healing powers. _Clever, Dumbledore._

The world came back into focus and Charlie lifted her head. The look on Riddle's face was priceless.

"Phoenix tears..." he muttered. "I had forgotten...no matter. I would prefer it if I killed you myself."

Fawkes picked up the diary where it rested by Ron's feet and dropped it into her lap. Charlie suddenly knew exactly what she had to do and grabbed the Fang. Ron watched in awe as she plunged it right through the cover of the diary.

Black ink spurted all over her hands. A terrible scream ripped through the air and Riddle was twitching. Then he was gone, leaving behind five wands.

"That was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. Charlie smiled weakly at him and Ron helped her to her feet.

"Oh..." A moan got their attention and they were ecstatic to see Ginny and Harry starting to awake.

"You're okay!" Charlie cried rushing over to Harry while Ron went to his sister.

"I'm sorry!" Harry cried out. "I didn't mean to attack all those people and I wanted to tell you but I was afraid of what would happen to me and-"

"It's okay," Charlie soothed. She rubbed his back and helped him to his feet. "You weren't aware of what you were doing."

"Did you kill the Basilisk?" Harry asked shakily as they moved towards Ron and Ginny, who were locked in an embrace.

"Yup." Charlie said cheerfully. "Can you believe it? Ron was awesome too!"

"I'm so sorry Ginny!" Harry apologized. "I didn't mean to take you down here with me!"

"It's alright," Ginny said weakly. "You weren't aware of what you were doing. I knew it as soon as I caught you writing your own death message on the wall."

Fawkes trilled and Charlie stretched. "Well, we better get out of here."

Ron gave everyone back their wands and the group trudged through the tunnel until they came upon the wall of rocks. "Professor!" Charlie called. "Are you okay?"

"There you are!" Lockhart cried out. "I was worried something might have happened to you."

"He was worried he'd be stuck down here." Ron muttered. Charlie rolled her eyes and the group climbed through the gap Lockhart had managed to make through the wall. The professor was in awful shape. His robes were tattered and dirty and his leg was at an odd angle.

"Right then," Charlie said. "I'll grab hold of Fawkes' tail feathers and he'll fly us all up to Myrtle's bathroom. We'll go see Dumbledore and then everyone will know the whole story."

"Will Fawkes be able to carry us all?" Harry asked dubiously.

"He's an amazing bird." Ron said with a grin.

Charlie laughed and tucked the sword into her belt. Ron placed the Sorting Hat on his head. Charlie grabbed Fawkes' tail feathers. Ron wrapped an arm around Ginny and used his other hand to clutch at Charlie's robes. Harry supported Lockhart and grabbed the back of Ron's robes.

"Off we go!" Charlie called. They sailed up through the pipe and ended up back on Myrtle's wet floor. She was staring at them all in shock.

"We did it!" Charlie said brightly.

"That's very nice," Myrtle said softly. "But if you had died, I would have let you share my stall."

"Aw, that's sweet. I'll be sure to come back and visit you sometimes." Charlie promised. "Alright then, come on Lockhart."

She and Ron helped Lockhart limp through the corridors. Fawkes led them straight to McGonagall's office. Harry nervously knocked on the door and pushed it open.

...

McGonagall, Dumbledore, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and what Charlie guessed to be Mr. Lupin got to their feet as the group entered the neat office. All of them were dripping slime and dirt (Ron and Charlie were also covered in blood) and Mrs. Weasley let out a scream. Ginny was wrapped in a hug and Ron and Charlie gently set a white-faced Lockhart on the couch.

"Ron! Get over here!" Mrs. Weasley wailed and Ron was pulled into a tight hug. "Oh! You saved her and Harry! Where's Charlie?"

Charlie pushed her dirty black hair away from her face. "Er...right here. But I'm covered in Basilisk blood, so unless you want to get-"

Mrs. Weasley didn't care and hugged Charlie tightly. Harry was being smothered by his Uncle Lupin. "What on earth happened?" He demanded. He was rather well-kept, with neat robes and a trimmed moustache.

"That's what we would all like to know." McGonagall said weakly. "Lockhart, what on earth happened down there?"

_Of course two kids couldn't take on a Basilisk. _Charlie thought in annoyance. Ron tensed up beside her.

Lockhart hesitated. "I didn't do anything. It was those two over there."

A stunned silence rang throughout the room. "You mean you didn't do anything?" Mrs. Weasley asked in shock.

"I broke my leg when the cave in happened." Lockhart muttered. "I got separated from Ronald and Charlotte almost as soon as we entered the Chamber."

"How did the cave in happen?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"It was just a freak occurrence." Ron said mildly. Charlie arched an eyebrow at him and he arched one back.

Only Dumbledore noticed this exchange and his blue eyes twinkled. Charlie removed the sword from her belt and placed it on McGonagall's desk. Then she began her story, from hearing the strange voice all the way to the discovery of the Chamber in Myrtle's bathroom. Her voice was starting to grow hoarse, so Ron picked up the tale and explained what had happened in the Chamber.

Neither of them wanted to rat out Harry but the boy did it himself.

"It was my fault," he whispered. "I found the diary with all of my books and I got excited when it started to write back to me. After some time I started getting possessed by You-Know-Who and did all those terrible things. I'm so sorry!"

Charlie held up the burnt and soggy diary. Dumbledore took it and examined it. "Brilliant..." he whispered softly. "Not many people know that Lord Voldemort was actually called Tom Riddle when he was in school. Tom Riddle left and travelled the world...but no one connected the sudden appearance of Lord Voldemort and the mysterious disappearance of Tom Riddle."

Remus looked at Harry in disbelief. "What have I told you about dark artefacts? Didn't I teach you how to tell what's Dark and what isn't?"

"I'm sorry!" Harry blubbered. The stress of the night finally caught up to him and he broke down into tears.

Dumbledore ordered Harry to be sent to the infirmary. He understood that Harry had no control over his actions and there was no punishment. Harry gave Dumbledore a grateful smile and left with his Uncle. Dumbledore invited the Weasley parents to stay for the feast and they escorted their youngest child out of the office. McGonagall went to oversee the feast preparations and to order all students and staff into the Great Hall.

"So will Hermione and everyone be okay?" Charlie asked.

"The Mandrake juice is finished. They'll be well enough for the celebration feast." Dumbledore smiled at the both of them.

The two cheered. "Now, Mr. Weasley, I do believe I told you if you broke any more school rules you would be expelled."

Charlie looked at Dumbledore in horror as Ron paled. She was about to protest when Dumbledore chuckled. "That just goes to show that sometimes we have to eat our words. Yes...you'll both receive Special Awards to Services for the School and two hundred points apiece."

Charlie and Ron grinned at each other.

"Now Lockhart, we ought to get you down to the infirmary." Dumbledore peered at him.

"Yes...er, Headmaster, do you mind if I send in my resignation form?" Lockhart asked feebly. "I think I ought to stick to something within my abilities..."

Dumbledore smiled. "I think we both knew this wouldn't work out for very long. You may put the forms on my desk tomorrow."

He Floo'd Madame Pomfrey to come and assist Lockhart to the infirmary. Lockhart looked so miserable and Charlie knew his pride was in pieces. Swallowing her own, she grabbed a piece of parchment off of McGonagall's desk and a quill and thrust it out to him. "Can I have your autograph?"

Ron looked at her in disbelief and Dumbledore beamed. Lockhart was positively delighted and happily scribbled out his name on the piece of parchment. When Pomfrey came to collect him, he looked a hundred times better.

"Are you mad?" Ron asked.

Charlie blushed and stuck the parchment in her robe pocket. "Well, he looked so unhappy! He may have done some dishonest things, but he's turning himself around. He actually admitted to not having the capabilities to the DADA job and didn't take credit for the defeat of the Basilisk."

"That was a very noble thing you did." Dumbledore praised. "Now...what I would like to know is who pulled the sword from the Hat?"

Ron raised a shaky hand. Dumbledore smiled. "I figured so...only a true Gryffindor could have pulled the sword from the Hat."

Sure enough, on the hilt, was the inscription Godric Gryffindor.

"Wicked!" Ron breathed.

"The both of you must have shown me great loyalty in the Chamber if Fawkes came to you. I thank you for that."

"I imagine Tom Riddle was very interested in meeting you..." Dumbledore said softly.

Charlie thought about it. "Well...he did say there was a strange likeness between the two of us. And yeah, there might be some similarities, but even though the Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, I asked it not to. That's more than I can say for Tom Riddle."

Dumbledore beamed. "That is a wonderful thought to have. Hold on to it." He pulled out another piece of parchment and a quill. "I'll write to Azkaban and tell them all that's happened. We need our gamekeeper back...and also a new DADA professor. Ronald, please take this down to the Owlery and send it off."

Ron nodded and took the parchment. He approached the door but it was thrown open by Lucius Malfoy.

"Weasley," he snarled.

Ron glared up at him. Dumbledore frowned. "Now Lucius, that's no way to talk to one of my students. I'll ask you to be more civil."

Lucius scowled but gave Ron a curt nod. Ron nodded back and tore from the office. "What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked.

As Lucius ranted about Dumbledore being back at school, Charlie watched as Dobby cowered behind him. He motioned towards the diary, then at Lucius, and bonked himself on the head. It was only when Lucius went deadly silent upon hearing that the Chamber had been closed for good did Charlie understand.

"You really ought to be more careful where you drop your dark artefacts." Charlie informed Lucius. "Mr. Weasley might catch wind and trace it all back to you. Wouldn't want that, would we?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes at her. "Lucky for us, Charlotte Potter will always be here to save the day."

Charlie lifted her chin. "You can count on it."

Angry, Lucius kicked Dobby from the office. Charlie flinched at each of his pained squeals and could not let Dobby go with that monster. "Can I have the diary?" she asked quickly.

Dumbledore nodded, a bit puzzled. Charlie yanked off a sneaker and hopped on one foot out of the office, yanking off a sock and stuffing the diary inside it. Dumbledore caught on and beamed. "Clever girl..."

"Mr. Malfoy!" Charlie called. "You forgot something!"

Lucius looked up and Charlie whipped the diary at him. He pulled off the slimy sock in disgust and glowered at the diary he uncovered. He chucked the sock off to the side and glared at her. "I promise, you'll meet the same end as your parents did. Come, Dobby!"

But Dobby did not follow. He was clutching the sock in his hands, green eyes wide. "Master has freed Dobby!"

Lucius looked stunned. He then turned on Charlie with a deadly look on his face. "You lost me my servant!" He roared and started forward.

Dobby leapt in front of her and snapped his fingers. Lucius was thrown down the stairs with a loud bang. "**You shall not harm **Charlotte **Potter! You shall go now.**" He said fiercely.

With no other choice, Lucius spun on his heel and stormed out of sight.

"Thanks Dobby." Charlie sighed.

"Dobby should be thanking you, miss!" Dobby hugged Charlie tightly. "Miss has freed Dobby!"

"Yeah, well, it was the least I could do." Charlie grinned. "Where are you off to now?"

"To find a new master, miss. It will be difficult, as no master wants to pay a Houself, but Dobby likes being free. He wants to be paid."

Charlie hesitated. She would hate it if Dobby got saddled with another family that treated him unkindly. "I know I'm not a pureblood...but...would you like to be my Houself?"

The welling tears in his eyes told Charlie he would very much want to be her Houself. "Miss is to kind!" Dobby sobbed. "Dobby is not worthy!"

"Dobby is worthy plenty." Charlie corrected. "I have only a few rules; you can't punish yourself, you have to take holidays off and I'll pay you five Sickles a week. That's all I can afford, really."

"Miss doesn't have to pay Dobby!"

"But you said you wanted to be paid." Charlie blinked in confusion.

"Working for Charlotte Potter is worth all the Galleons in the world!" Dobby said earnestly.

Touched, Charlie grinned. "You're sweet! Come on, we have a feast to get to."

...

It was the best night of Charlie's life. Hermione came tearing through the doors, shrieking with glee and throwing her arms around them. Charlie explained the whole story and when Harry slowly entered (his Uncle convinced him he was well enough to go) Hermione hugged him tightly, assuring him she didn't blame him in the least.

Ron and Charlie didn't tell Hermione Lockhart's secrets. They decided to keep them to themselves.

Dumbledore announced that unfortunately, exams would take place the following week. But he promised them that they could have the rest of this week off to study (or not). There still wasn't time for the Quidditch Cup but Scarlet was certain they'd win it next year.

Hermione was delighted to discover that Charlie had rescued Dobby from the cruel Malfoys. Dobby quickly grew fond of Harry, Ron and Hermione and was the happiest he'd ever been. Dobby was perfectly happy to being loaned to the Weasleys during the summer holidays (there was no way Charlie was letting Dobby serve the Dursleys; they may have hated magic, but they always wanted a maid) and Ron turned pink at that.

Their exams went by like a blur and soon it was time to board the Express. Charlie's friends promised to write her often.

"Hey!" Ron exclaimed as they climbed off the train.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I just remembered! I said Tom Riddle probably blamed Hagrid because he was the Heir! And I was right! Just like how I was right last year about Quirrell and You-Know-Who being one in the same! You lot better start listening to me."

They all groaned.

...

"Albus?"

"Ah Severus! It's been quite a year, hasn't it?"

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Indeed. I've just taken inventory of my supplies and I noticed I'm missing a vile of Leprechaun's Tears. Care to guess as who could have taken it?"

Albus hummed in thought. "You don't think Harry and Charlotte...?"

"I wouldn't put it past them." Severus drawled. "And if they know, what do we do?"

"We'll wait until they come to us." Albus sighed. "They know too much for their own good. Severus, I just realized something."

"And that is?"

"You haven't threatened to cut off their ears and use them as potion ingredients! That must mean you're beginning to like Charlotte!"

"...sod off, you old coot."

**Well, that's the end of Book Two.**

**Until next time,**

**AnimationNut out.**

**Peace!**


	13. Sequel Notice

**Sequel Notice**

Thought I'd never get this out! The third book is out and it is called Chosen Girl and the Escaped Wizard Convict

So...if you're still a fan of Charlotte Potter and the Golden Quartet, go check it out!

Thanks!

**AnimationNut**


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